'.E  EYEG 
:F  ASIA 


BY 
RaDYARD    KIPLING 


PH 
4854 

H  Southern  Branch 

^  of  the 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles 

Form   L    1 


'f 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


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OCT  9      1929 

f^^B.   '8  1930 
APR  5      1938 


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BR'D  MLD 

JUN  2  9/1961 


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OCT  16  ^Q3^ 


^ 


OCT  2  0  1944 
dCT  :S  1   1944 

FormL-9-15m  11,27 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/eyesofasiaOOkipl 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 


Books  by  Rudyard  Kipling 

Actions  and  Reactions 

Life's      Handicap:       Being 

Brushwood  Boy,  The 

Stories     of    Mine    Own 

Captains  Courageous 

People 

Collected  Verse 

Light  That  Failed,  The 

Day's  Work,  The 

Many  Inventions 

Departmental  Ditties  and 

Naulahka,  The  (With  Wol- 

Ballads     and     Barrack- 

cott  Balestier) 

Room  Ballads 

Plain  Talcs  from  the  Hills 

Diversity  of  Creatures,  A 

Puck  of  Pook's  Hill 

Eyes  of  Asia,  The 

Rewards  and  Fairies 

Five  Nations,  The 

Sea  Warfare 

France  at  War 

Seven  Seas,  The 

From  Sea  to  Sea 

Soldier  Stories 

History  of  England,  A 

Soldiers  Three,   The   Story 

Jungle  Book,  The 

of  the   Gadsbys,   and  In 

Jungle  Book,  Second 

Black  and  White 

Just  So  Song  Book 

Song  of  the  English,  A 

Just  So  Stories 

Songs  From  Books 

Kim 

Stalky  &  Co. 

Kipling  Stories  and  Poems 

They 

Every     Child      Should 

Traffics  and  Discoveries 

Know 

Under   the    Deodars,    The 

Kipling    Birthday     Book, 

Phantom  'Rickshaw,  and 

The 

Wee  Willie  Winkie 

With  the  Night  Mail 

THE 
EYES  OF  ASIA 


Garden  City  New  York 

DOUBLEDAY,   PAGE  &  COMPANY 

191  9 


Copyright,  1917, 1918,  by 
RUDYARD  KIPLING 


V  R 


CONTENTS 

V\^ 

A  Retired  Gentleman     .      .     . 

PAGE 
I 

The  Fumes  of  the  Heart     .     . 

.               23 

K 

^ 

The  Private  Account     .     .     . 

.       47 

A  Trooper  of  Horse 

.       75 

^ 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

From  Bishen  Singh  Saktazvut,  Subedar 
Major  J  21  ^th  Indurgurh  [Todd*s]  Rajputs, 
now  at  Lyndhurst,  Hampshire,  England,  this 
letter  is  sent  to  Madhu  Singh,  Sazuant, 
Risaldar  Major  [retired]  146th  [Dublana] 
Horse,  on  his  fief  which  he  holds  under  the 
Thakore  Sahib  of  Pech  at  Buka^ii  by  the 
River,  near  Chiturkaira,  Kotah,  Rajputana, 
written  in  the  fifth  month  of  the  year  igi6, 
English  count. 


H 


.AViNG  experienced  five  months  of  this 
war,  I  became  infected  with  fever  and  a 
strong  coldness  of  the  stomach  [rupture]. 
The  doctor  ordered  me  out  of  it  altogether. 
They  have  also  cut  me  with  knives  for  a 
I3] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

wound  on  my  leg.  It  is  now  healed  but  the 
strength  is  gone,  and  it  is  very  frightened 
of  the  ground.  I  have  been  in  many 
hospitals  for  a  long  time.  At  this  present 
I  am  living  in  a  hospital  for  Indian  troops 
in  a  forest-reservation  called  *'New,"  which 
was  established  by  a  King's  order  in  ages 
past.  There  is  no  order  for  my  return  to 
India.  I  do  not  desire  it.  My  Regiment 
has  now  gone  out  of  France — to  Egypt,  or 
Africa.  My  officer  Sahibs  are  for  the  most 
part  dead  or  in  hospitals.  During  a  railway 
journey  when  two  people  sit  side  by  side 
for  two  hours  one  feels  the  absence  of  the 
other  when  he  alights.  How  great  then 
was  my  anguish  at  being  severed  from  my 
Regiment  after  thirty-three  years!  Now, 
however,  I  am  finished.  If  I  return  to 
India  I  cannot  drill  the  new  men  between 
my  two  crutches.  I  should  subsist  in  my 
village  on  my  wound-pension  among  old 
and  young  who  have  never  seen  war.  Here 
.l4l 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

I  have  great  consideration.  Though  I  am 
useless  they  are  patient  with  me. 

Having  knowledge  of  the  English  tongue, 
I  am  sometimes  Invited  to  Interpret  be- 
tween those  In  the  hospital  for  the  Indian 
troops  and  visitors  of  high  position.  I 
advance  eminent  visitors,  such  as  relatives 
of  Kings  and  Princes  Into  the  presence  of 
the  Colonel  Doctor  Sahib.  I  enjoy  a  small 
room  apart  from  the  hospital  wards.  I 
have  a  servant.  The  Colonel  Doctor  Sahib 
examines  my  body  at  certain  times.  I  am 
forbidden  to  stoop  even  for  my  crutches. 
They  are  instantly  restored  to  me  by 
orderlies  and  my  friends  among  the  Eng- 
lish. I  come  and  go  at  my  pleasure  where 
I  will,  and  my  presence  is  solicited  by  the 
honourable. 

You  say  I  made  a  mistake  to  join  the 

war   at  the   end   of  my   service?     I  have 

endured  five  months  of  it.     Come  you  out 

and  endure  two  and  a  half.     You  are  three 

[5l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

years  younger   than   I.     Why  do  you   sit 
at  home  and  drill  new  men?     Remember: 

The  Brahman  who  steals, 
The  widow  who  wears  ornaments, 
The  Rajput  who  avoids  the  battle, 
Are  only  fit  for  crows'  meat. 

You  write  me  that  this  is  a  war  for  young 
men?  The  old  are  not  entirely  useless. 
The  Badshah  [the  King]  himself  gave  me 
the  medal  for  fetching  in  my  captain  from 
out  of  the  wires  upon  my  back.  That  work 
caused  me  the  coldness  in  my  stomach. 
Old  men  should  not  do  coolie-work.  Your 
cavalry  were  useless  in  France.  Infantry 
can  fight  in  this  war — not  cavalry.  It  is 
as  impossible  for  us  to  get  out  of  our 
trenches  and  exterminate  the  enemy  as  it 
is  for  the  enemy  to  attack  us.  Doubtless 
the  cavalry  brigades  will  show  what  they 
are  made  of  in  Egypt  or  Persia.  This 
[6] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

business  in  France  is  all  Artillery  work  and 
mines.  The  blowing  up  of  the  Chitoree 
Bastion  when  Arjoon  went  to  Heaven  wav- 
ing his  sword,  as  the  song  says,  would  not 
be  noticed  in  the  noise  of  this  war. 

The  nature  of  the  enemy  is  to  go  to  earth 
and  flood  us  with  artillery  of  large  weight. 
When  we  were  in  the  trenches  it  was  a 
burden.  When  we  rested  in  the  villages 
we  found  great  ease.  As  to  our  food,  it 
was  like  a  bunnia's  marriage-feast.  Every- 
thing given,  nothing  counted.  Some  of  us 
— especially  among  your  cavalry — grew  so 
fat  that  they  were  compelled  to  wrestle 
to  keep  thin.  This  is  because  there  was  no 
marching. 

The  nature  of  the  enemy  is  to  commit 
shame  upon  women  and  children,  and  to 
defile  the  shrines  of  his  own  faith  with  his 
own  dung.  It  is  done  by  him  as  a  drill.  We 
believed  till  then  they  were  some  sort  of 
caste  apart  from  the  rest.  We  did  not 
I7l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

know  they  were  outcaste.  Now  it  is  estab- 
lished by  the  evidence  of  our  senses.  They 
attack  on  all  fours  running  like  apes. 
They  are  specially  careful  for  their  faces. 
When  death  is  certain  to  them  they  ofTer  gifts 
and  repeat  the  number  of  their  children. 
They  are  very  good  single  shots  from  cover. 

It  is  the  nature  of  the  enemy  to  shower 
seductions  from  out  of  their  air-machines 
on  our  troops  in  the  lines.  They  promised 
such  as  would  desert  that  they  would  become 
Rajahs  among  them.  Some  of  the  men  went 
over  to  see  if  this  were  true.  No  report 
came  back.  In  this  way  we  cleaned  out 
five  bad  characters  from  our  Company 
exactly  as  it  used  to  be  in  the  little  wars  on 
the  Border.  May  the  enemy  be  pleased 
with  them!  No  man  of  any  caste  dis- 
graced  our   Regiment. 

The  nature  of  the  enemy  in  this  war  is 
like  the   Nat    [juggler]   who   is    compelled 
to  climb  a  pole  for  his  belly's  sake.     If  he 
[8] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

does  not  climb  he  starves.  If  he  stops  he 
falls  down.  This  is  my  thought  con- 
cerning the  enemy. 

Now  that  our  troops  have  gone  out  of 
France,  the  war  is  entirely  between  the 
enemy  and  the  English,  etc.,  etc.  Both 
sides  accordingly  increased  the  number 
and  the  size  of  their  guns.  The  new 
wounded  officers  in  the  English  hospital 
say  that  the  battles  of  even  yesterday  are 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  battle  of  to- 
day. Tell  this  to  those  who  have  returned 
and  who  boast.  Only  fools  will  desire 
more  war  when  this  war  is  ended.  Their 
reward  will  be  an  instant  extinction  on 
account  of  the  innumerable  quantity  of 
arms,  munitions,  etc.,  etc.,  which  will  be 
left  in  the  hands  of  the  experts.  Those 
who  make  war  henceforward  will  be  as 
small  jackals  fighting  beneath  the  feet  of 
elephants.  This  Government  has  abun- 
dance of  material,  and  fresh  strength  is 
[9l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

added  every  hour.  Let  there  be  no  mis- 
take. The  foolish  have  been  greatly  de- 
ceived in  these  matters  by  the  nature  of  the 
English  which  is  in  the  highest  degree  de- 
ceptive. Everything  is  done  and  spoken 
upside-down  in  this  country  of  the  English. 
He  who  has  a  thousand  says:  "It  is  but 
a  scant  hundred."  The  possessor  of  palaces 
says:  "It  is  a  hut,"  and  the  rest  in  pro- 
portion. Their  boast  is  not  to  boast. 
Their  greatness  is  to  make  themselves  very 
small.  They  draw  a  curtain  in  front  of  all 
they  do.  It  is  as  difficult  to  look  upon  the 
naked  face  of  their  achievements  as  in  our 
country  upon  the  faces  of  women. 

It  is  not  true  there  is  no  caste  in  England. 
The  mark  of  the  high  castes,  such  as  Ul  or 
Baharun  [Earl  or  Baron]  is  that  they  can 
perform  any  office,  such  as  handling  the 
dead,  wounds,  blood,  etc.,  without  loss  of 
caste.  The  Maharanee  of  the  Nurses  in 
the  English  Hospital  which  is  near  our 
f  lol 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

Hospital  is  by  caste  Baharanee  [Baroness]. 
I  resort  thither  daily  for  society  and  en- 
lightenment on  the  habits  of  this  people. 
The  high  castes  are  forbidden  to  show 
curiosity,  appetite,  or  fear  in  public  places. 
In  this  respect  they  resemble  troops  on 
parade.  Their  male  children  are  beaten 
from  their  ninth  year  to  their  seventeenth 
year,  by  men  with  sticks.  Their  women 
are  counted  equal  with  their  men.  It  is 
reckoned  as  disgraceful  for  a  Baharanee 
to  show  fear  when  lights  are  extinguished 
in  the  hospital  on  account  of  bomb-dropping 
air-ships,  as  for  an  Ul  to  avoid  battle. 
They  do  not  blacken  each  other's  faces  by 
loud  abuse,  but  by  jests  spoken  in  a  small 
voice. 

The  nature  of  the  young  men  of  high 
caste  is  as  the  nature  of  us  Rajputs.  They 
do  not  use  opium,  but  they  delight  in  horses, 
and  sport  and  women,  and  are  perpetually 
in  debt  to  the  moneylender.  They  shoot 
[III 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

partridge  and  they  are  forced  to  ride  foxes 
because  there  are  no  wild  pig  here.  They 
know  nothing  of  hawking  or  quail-fighting, 
but  they  gamble  up  to  the  hilt  on  all  occa- 
sions and  bear  losses  laughing.  Their  card- 
play  is  called  Baraich  [Bridge?].  They  be- 
little their  own  and  the  achievements  of 
their  friends,  so  long  as  that  friend  faces 
them.  In  his  absence  they  extol  his  deeds. 
They  are  of  cheerful  countenance.  When 
they  jest,  they  respect  honour.  It  is  so  also 
with  their  women.  The  Nurses  in  the  Hospi- 
tal of  my  Baharanee  where  I  resort  for  soci- 
ety jest  with  me  as  daughters  with  a  father. 
They  say  that  they  will  be  stricken  with 
grief  if  I  return  to  India.  They  call  me 
Dada  which  is  father  also  in  their  tongue. 
Though  I  am  utterly  useless  they  are  un- 
wearied of  me.  They  themselves  hasten 
to  restore  me  my  crutches  when  I  let  them 
fall.  None  of  these  women  lament  their 
dead  openly.     The  eldest  son  of  my  Bahar- 

[12] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

anee  at  the  English  Hospital  where  I  am 
made  welcome,  was  slain  in  battle.  The 
next  morning  after  the  news  my  Bahar- 
anee  let  loose  the  plate-pianos  [turned  on 
the  gramophones]  for  the  delectation  of 
the  wounded.  It  comes  into  my  mind  to 
suggest  to  you  that  our  women  are  unable 
to  stand  by  themselves. 

When  the  Badshah  commanded  me  to  his 
Palace  to  receive  the  medal,  I  saw  all  the  won- 
ders and  entertainments  of  the  city  of  Lon- 
don. There  was  neither  trouble  nor  expense. 
My  Baharanee  gave  orders  I  should  inhabit 
her  own  house  in  that  city.  It  was  in  reality 
a  palace  filled  with  carpets,  gilt  furniture, 
marbles,  mirrors,  silks,  velvets,  carvings, 
etc.,  etc.  Hot  water  ran  in  silver  pipes 
to  my  very  bedside.  The  perfumed  baths 
were  perpetually  renewed.  When  it  rained 
daily  I  walked  in  a  glass  pavilion  filled  with 
scented  flowers.  I  inhabited  here  ten  days. 
Though  I  was  utterly  useless  they  were  un- 
[13] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

wearied  of  me.  A  companion  was  found 
me.  He  was  a  Risaldar  of  Dekkani  Horse, 
a  man  of  family,  wounded  in  the  arms. 
We  two  received  our  medals  together. 
We  saw  the  King's  Palace,  and  the  custom 
of  the  Guard  Mount  in  the  mornings  daily. 
Their  drill  is  like  stone  walls,  but  the 
nature  of  the  English  music  is  without  any 
meaning.  We  two  saw  the  great  temple, 
Seyn  Pol  [St.  Paul's?],  where  their  dead  are. 
It  is  as  a  country  enclosed  in  a  house.  My 
companion  ascended  to  the  very  roof-top 
and  saw  all  the  city.  We  are  nothing  beside 
these  people.  We  two  also  saw  the  Bird 
Garden  [Zoological  Gardens]  where  they  stu- 
diously preserve  all  sorts  of  wild  animals,  even 
down  to  jackals  and  green  parrots.  It  is  the 
nature  of  the  English  to  consider  all  created 
beings  as  equal.  The  Badshah  himself  wears 
khaki.  His  son  the  Shahzada  is  a  young 
man  who  inhabits  the  trenches  except  when 
he  is  forbidden.  He  is  a  keen  son  of  the  sword. 
[14] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

It  Is  true  that  trains  run  underneath  the 
city  in  all  directions.  We  descended  into 
the  earth  upon  a  falling  platform  [lift]  and 
travelled.  The  stopping-places  are  as  close 
as  beads  on  a  thread.  The  doors  of  the 
carriages  are  guarded  with  gates  that  strike 
out  sideways  like  cobras.  Each  sitter  is 
allowed  a  space  upon  a  divan  of  yellow 
canework.  When  the  divans  are  full  the 
surplus  hang  from  the  roof  by  leathers. 
Though  our  carriage  was  full,  place  was 
made  for  us.  At  the  end  of  our  journey 
the  train  was  halted  beyond  its  lawful 
time  that  we  might  come  forth  at  ease. 
The  trains  were  full  of  English  soldiers. 
All  castes  of  the  English  are  now  soldiers. 
They  are  become  like  us  Rajputs — as 
many  people  so  many  soldiers. 

We  two  saw  houses,  shops,  carriages,  and 

crowds   till   our   souls  were   broken.     The 

succeeding  days  were  as  the  first,  without 

intermission.     We  begged  at  last  to  be  ex- 

[iSl 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

cused  from  the  sight  of  the  multitudes  and 
the  height  of  the  houses. 

We  two  agreed  that  understanding  is 
most  needful  in  this  present  age.  We  in 
India  must  get  education  before  all  things. 
Hereafter  we  Rajputs  must  seriously  con- 
sider our  arrangements  in  all  respects — in 
our  houses  as  well  as  in  our  fields,  etc.,  etc. 
Otherwise  we  become  nothing.  We  have 
been  deceived  by  the  nature  of  the  English. 
They  have  not  at  any  time  shown  us  any- 
thing of  their  possessions  or  their  per- 
formances. We  are  not  even  children  be- 
side them.  They  have  dealt  with  us  as 
though  they  were  themselves  children  talk- 
ing chotee  boli  [little  talk].  In  this  manner 
the  ill-informed  have  been  misled.  Noth- 
ing is  known  in  India  of  the  great  strength 
of  this  people.  Make  that  perfectly  clear 
to  all  fools.  Why  should  we  who  serve  the 
Government  have  the  blood  of  the  misin- 
formed on  our  heads  when  they  behave 
[i61 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

foolishly  ?  This  people  have  all  the  strength. 
There  is  no  reason  except  the  nature  of  the 
English  that  anything  in  their  dominions 
should  stand  up  which  has  been  ordered  to 
lie  down.  It  is  only  their  soft  nature  which 
saves  evil  from  destruction.  As  the  saying 
is,  "We  thought  It  was  only  an  armed  horse- 
man. Behold,  it  Is  an  elephant  bearing  a 
tower!" 

It  is  In  my  mind  that  the  glory  of  us 
Rajputs  has  become  diminished  since  the 
old  days.  In  the  old  days,  our  Princesses 
charged  in  battle  beside  their  men,  and  the 
name  of  the  clans  was  great.  Then  all  Raj- 
puts were  brothers  and  sisters.  How  has  this 
come  about.?  What  man  of  us  now  relies 
upon  the  advice  of  his  womenkind  In  any 
matter  outside  .f*  In  this  country  and  in 
France  the  women  understand  perfectly 
what  is  needful  in  the  day  of  trial.  They 
say  to  their  men:  "Add  to  the  renown 
of  your  race.  We  will  attend  to  the  rest 
[17] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

through  the  excellent  education  which  this 
just  Government  has  caused  us  to  receive." 
Thus  the  men's  hearts  are  hghtened  when 
they  go  to  the  war.  They  confide  securely 
in  their  well  educated  women.  How  is  it 
with  our  horses?  Shape  and  size  from  the 
sire:  temper  and  virtue  from  the  dam.  If 
the  mare  endures  thirst,  the  colt  can  run 
without  water.  Man's  nature  also  draws 
from  the  spindle-side.  Why  have  we 
allowed  forgetfulness  to  impair  our  mem- 
ory? This  was  well  known  in  the  old  days. 
In  this  country  arrangements  for  wash- 
ing clothes  exist  in  almost  every  house, 
such  as  tubs,  boards,  and  irons,  and  there 
is  a  machine  to  squeeze  water  out  of  the 
washed  clothes.  They  do  not  conceal  their 
astonishment  at  our  methods.  Our  women 
should  be  taught.  Only  by  knowledge  is 
anything  achieved.  Otherwise  we  are  as 
children  running  about  naked  under  the 
feet  of  grown  men  and  women. 

[i8] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

See  what  our  women  have  already  accom- 
plished by  education!  The  Thakore  Sahib 
of  Philawat  was  refused  leave  from  the 
Government  to  go  to  the  war,  on  account 
of  his  youth.  Yet  his  sister,  who  wedded 
the  Rana  of  Haliana  had  prepared  a  con- 
tingent of  infantry  out  of  her  own  dower- 
villages.  They  were  set  down  in  the  roll 
of  the  Princes'  contingents  as  stretcher- 
bearers:  they  being  armed  men  out  of  the 
desert.  She  sent  a  telegram  to  her  brother, 
commissioning  him  to  go  with  them  as 
Captain  of  stretcher-bearers :  he  being  a  son 
of  the  Sword  for  seventy  generations.  Thus 
cleverly  he  received  permission  from  the 
Government  to  go.  When  they  reached 
France  he  stole  them  out  of  the  camp,  every 
one  of  his  sister's  men,  and  joined  himself  to 
the  Rajah  of  Kandesur's  contingent.  Those 
two  boys  together  made  their  name  bright 
in  the  trenches.  The  Philawat  boy  was  hit 
twice  ar\d  came  to  hospital  here.  The  Govern- 
I19] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

ment  sent  him  a  sealed  letter  by  messenger 
where  he  lay.  He  had  great  fear  of  it,  be- 
cause what  he  and  Kandesur  had  done  was 
without  orders.  He  expected  a  reprimand 
from  the  Government  and  also  from  his  uncle 
because  of  the  succession.  But  the  letter 
was  an  announcement  of  decoration  from  the 
Shahzada  himself,  and  when  he  had  read  it, 
the  child  hid  his  face  beneath  the  sheets  and 
wept  for  joy.  I  saw  and  heard  this  from 
my  very  bed  in  the  hospital.  So  his  Mili- 
tary Cross  and  the  rest  was  due  to  the 
Maharanee  of  Haliana,  his  sister.  Before 
her  marriage  she  attended  instruction  in 
England  at  the  great  school  for  maidens 
called  Ghatun  [Girton.^].  She  goes  unveiled 
among  Englishmen,  laying  hold  upon  her 
husband's  right  arm  in  public  assemblies  in 
open  daylight.  And  Haliana  is  sunborn.* 
Consider  it!     Consider  it! 


*The  royal  clans  of  the  Rajputs  derive  their  descent  from  the 
Sun. 

[20] 


A  RETIRED  GENTLEMAN 

Do  not  be  concerned  if  I  do  not  return. 
I  have  seen  all  the  reports  of  all  the  arrange- 
ments made  for  burial,  etc.,  etc.,  in  this 
country.  They  are  entirely  in  accordance 
with  our  faith.  My  youth  and  old  age 
have  been  given  to  the  service  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  if  the  Government  can  be 
served  with  the  dust  of  my  bones  it  is  theirs. 
Now  that  my  boy  is  dead  in  Arabia  I  have 
also  withdrawn  my  petition  to  the  Govern- 
ment for  a  land-grant.  What  use?  The 
house  is  empty. 

Man  does  not  remain  in  the  world 
But  his  name  remains. 
Though  Jam  and  Suliman  are  gone 
Their  names  are  not  lost. 

When  that  arrives,  my  Maharanee  Bah- 
aranee  will  despatch  to  you  posh-free  par 
parshel-posh  [post-free  per  parcel-post]  my 
Cross  that  the  Badshah  gave  me,  and  a 
letter  from  my  Captain  Sahib's  Mother  with 

[21] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

whose  brother  I  served  when  I  was  a  man. 
As  for  my  debts,  it  does  not  trouble  me  in 
the  least  that  the  moneylenders  should 
be  so  troubled  about  them.  But  for  the 
Army  and  the  Police  the  people  would 
have  killed  all  moneylenders.  Give  my 
duty  to  the  Rana  of  Pech,  for  his  line  were 
my  father's  overlords  from  the  first.  He^ 
can  hang  up  my  sword  beside  my  father's. 
Do  not  be  concerned  for  whatever  over- 
takes me.  I  have  sifted  the  sands  of 
France:  now  I  sift  those  of  England. 
Here  I  am  held  in  the  greatest  kindness 
and  honour  imaginable  by  all  whom  I 
meet.  Though  I  am  useless  as  a  child 
yet  they  are  unwearied  of  me.  The  nurses 
in  my  Maharanee  Baharanee's  Hospital, 
which  is  by  day  a  home  and  a  house  to  me, 
minister  to  me  as  daughters  to  a  father. 
They  run  after  me  and  rebuke  me  if  I  do 
not  wear  a  certain  coat  when  it  rains  daily. 
I  am  like  a  dying  tree  in  a  garden  of  flowers. 

[22] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

Scene.  Pavilion  and  Dome  Hospital, 
Brighton — 191 5. 

What  talk  is  this,  Doctor  Sahib?  This 
Sahib  says  he  will  be  my  letter-writer?  Just 
as  though  he  were  a  bazar  letter-writer  at  home? 
.  .  .  What  are  the  Sahib's  charges?  Two 
annas?  Too  much!  I  give  one.  .  .  .  No. 
No!  Sahib.  You  should^it  have  come  down  so 
quickly.  Youve  forgotten,  we  Sikhs  akvays 
bargain.  .  .  .  Well,  one  anna  be  it. 
I  will  give  a  bond  to  pay  it  out  of  my  wound- 
pension  when  I  get  home.  Sit  by  the  side  of 
my  bed.     .     .     . 

This  is  the  trouble.  Sahib.  My  brother  who 
holds  his  land  and  works  mine,  outside 
Amritsar  City,  is  a  fool.  He  is  older  than  I, 
[25] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

He  has  done  his  service  aiid  got  one  wound 
out  of  it  in  what  they  used  to  call  war — that 
child' s  play  in  the  Tirah  years  ago.  He  thinks 
himself  a  soldier!  But  that  is  not  his  offence. 
He  sends  me  postcards.  Sahib — scores  of 
postcards — whining  about  the  drouth  or  the 
taxes,  or  the  crops,  or  our  servants'  pilferings 
or  some  such  trouble.  He  doesnt  know  what 
trouble  means.  I  want  to  tell  him  he  is  a 
fool.  .  .  .  What?  True!  True!  One 
can  get  money  and  land  but  never  a  new 
brother.  But  for  all  that,  he  \s  a  fool.  .  .  . 
Is  he  a  good  farmer?  S^-heeb!  //  an 
Amritsar  Sikh  isnt  a  good  farmer,  a  hen 
doesnt  know  an  egg.  .  .  .  Is  he  hon- 
est? As  my  own  pet  yoke  of  bullocks.  He 
is  only  a  fool.  My  belly  is  on  fire  now  with 
knowledge  I  never  had  before,  a7id  I  wish 
to  impart  it  to  him — to  the  village  elders 
— to  all  people.  Yes,  that  is  true,  too.  If 
I  keep  calling  him  a  fool,  he  will  not  gain  any 
knowledge.  .  .  .  Let  me  think  it  over  on 
[26] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

all  sides!  Aha!  Now  that  I  have  a  bazar- 
zvriter  of  my  own  I  will  write  a  book — a  very 
book  of  a  letter  to  my  fool  of  a  brotlier.  .  .  . 
And  now  we  zvill  begin.  Take  dozvn  my  words 
from  my  lips  to  my  foolish  old  farmer- 
brother: — 

"You  will  have  received  the  notification 
of  my  wounds  which  I  took  in  Franceville. 
Now  that  I  am  better  of  my  wounds,  I  have 
leisure  to  write  with  a  long  hand.  Here 
we  have  paper  and  ink  at  command.  Thus 
it  is  easy  to  let  off  the  fumes  of  our  hearts. 
Send  me  all  the  news  of  all  the  crops  and 
what  is  being  done  in  our  village.  This 
poor  parrot  is  always  thinking  of  Kashmir. 

"As  to  my  own  concerns,  the  trench  in 
which  I  sat  was  broken  by  a  bomb-golee  as 
large  as  our  smallest  grain-chest."  [He'll 
go  off  and  measure  it  at  once!]  "  It  dropped 
out  of  the  air.  It  burst,  the  ground  was 
opened  and  replaced  upon  seven  of  us. 
[27] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

I  and  two  others  took  wounds.  Sweet- 
meats are  not  distributed  in  war-time. 
God  permitted  my  soul  to  live,  by  means 
of  the  doctors'  strong  medicines.  I  have 
inhabited  six  hospitals  before  I  came  here 
to  England.  This  hospital  is  like  a  temple. 
It  is  set  in  a  garden  beside  the  sea.  We 
lie  on  iron  cots  beneath  a  dome  of  gold  and 
colours  and  glittering  glass  work,  with 
pillars."  [You  know  that's  true.  Sahib. 
V^e  can  see  it — hut  d^you  think  he'll  believe? 
Never!  Never!]  "Our  food  is  cooked  for 
us  according  to  our  creeds — Sikh,  or  Brah- 
min, or  Mussulman  and  all  the  rest — 
When  a  man  dies  he  is  also  buried  according 
to  his  creed.  Though  he  has  been  a  groom 
or  a  sweeper,  he  is  buried  like  some  great 
land-owner.  Do  not  let  such  matters  trou- 
ble you  henceforth.  Living  or  dying,  all  is 
done  in  accordance  with  the  ordinance  of 
our  faiths.  Some  low-caste  men,  such  as 
sweepers,    counting    upon    the    ignorance 

f28l 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

of  the  doctors  here  make  a  claim  to  be  of 
reputable  caste  in  order  that  they  may- 
get  consideration.  If  a  sweeper  in  this  hos- 
pital says  he  is  forbidden  by  his  caste  to 
do  certain  things  he  is  believed.  He  is 
not  beaten."  [Nozv,  why  is  that,  Sahib? 
They  ought  to  he  beaten  for  pretending  to  have 
caste,  and  making  a  mock  of  the  doctors. 
I  should  slipper  them  publicly — but — Fm 
not  the  Governme7it.     We  will  go  on.\ 

'*The  English  do  not  despise  any  sort  of 
work.  They  are  of  many  castes,  but  they 
are  all  one  kind  in  this.  On  account  of  my 
wounds,  I  have  not  yet  gone  abroad  to  see 
English  fields  or  towns."  [It  is  true  I  have 
been  out  twice  in  a  motor-carriage,  Sahib, 
but  that  goes  too  quickly  for  a  man  to  see  shops, 
let  alone  faces.  We  will  not  tell  him  that. 
He  does  not  like  motor-car s\  "The  French 
in  Franceville  work  continually  without  rest. 
The  French  and  the  Phlahamahnds  [Flam- 
ands]  who  are  a  caste  of  French,  are  Kings 

[29l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

among  cultivators.  As  to  cultivation — " 
[NozVy  I  pray.  Sahib,  write  quickly  for  I  am 
as  full  of  this  matter  as  a  buffalo  of  water} 
"their  fields  are  larger  than  ours,  without 
any  divisions,  and  they  do  not  waste  any- 
thing except  the  width  of  the  footpath. 
Their  land  descends  securely  from  father  to 
son  upon  payment  of  tax  to  the  Govern- 
ment, just  as  in  civilized  countries.  I  have 
observed  that  they  have  their  land  always 
at  their  hearts  and  in  their  mouths,  just  as 
in  civilized  countries.  They  do  not  grow 
more  than  one  crop  a  year,  but  this  is  rec- 
ompensed to  them  because  their  fields  do 
not  need  irrigation.  The  rain  in  France- 
ville  is  always  sure  and  abundant  and  in 
excess.  They  grow  all  that  we  grow  such 
as  peas,  onions,  garlic,  spinach,  beans,  cab- 
bages and  wheat.  They  do  not  grow  small 
grains  or  millet,  and  their  only  spice  is  mus- 
tard. They  do  not  drink  water,  but  the 
juice  of  apples  which  they  squeeze  into  bar- 
[30] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

rels  for  that  purpose.  A  full  bottle  is  sold 
for  two  pice.  They  do  not  drink  milk 
but  there  is  abundance  of  it.  It  is  all 
cows'  milk,  of  which  they  make  butter  in 
a  churn  which  is  turned  by  a  dog."  [Now, 
how  shall  we  make  my  brother  believe  that? 
Write  it  large.]  "In  Franceville,  the  dogs 
are  both  courteous  and  industrious.  They 
play  with  the  cat,  they  tend  the  sheep, 
they  churn  the  butter,  they  draw  a  cart  and 
guard  it  too.  When  a  regiment  meets  a 
flock,  the  dogs  of  their  own  wisdom  order 
the  sheep  to  step  to  one  side  of  the  road. 
I  have  often  seen  this."  [Not  one  word  of 
this  will  he  or  anyone  in  the  villages  believe. 
Sahib.  What  can  you  expect?  They  have 
never  even  seen  Lahore  City!  We  will  tell 
him  what  he  can  understand.]  "Ploughs 
and  carts  are  drawn  by  horses.  Oxen  are 
not  used  for  these  purposes  in  these  villages. 
The  field  w^ork  is  wholly  done  by  old  men 
and  women  and  children,  who  can  all 
I31] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

read  and  write.  The  young  men  are  all 
at  the  war.  The  war  comes  also  to  the 
people  in  the  villages,  but  they  do  not  re- 
gard the  war  because  they  are  cultivators. 
I  have  a  friend  among  the  French — an  old 
man  in  the  village  where  the  Regiment  was 
established,  who  daily  fills  in  the  holes 
made  in  his  fields  by  the  enemy's  shells 
with  dirt  from  a  long-handled  spade.  I 
begged  him  once  to  desist  when  we  were  to- 
gether on  this  work,  but  he  said  that  idle- 
ness would  cause  him  double  work  for  the 
day  following.  His  grandchild,  a  very 
small  maiden,  grazed  a  cow  behind  a  wood 
where  the  shells  fell,  and  was  killed  in  that 
manner.  Our  Regiment  was  told  the  news 
and  they  took  an  account  of  it,  for  she  was 
often  among  them,  begging  buttons  from 
their  uniforms.  She  was  small  and  full  of 
laughter,  and  she  had  learned  a  little  of 
our  tongue."  [Yes.  That  was  a  very  great 
shame^  Sahib.  She  was  the  child  of  us  alL 
[32] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

We  exacted  a  payment,  but  she  was  slain — 
slain  like  a  calf  for  no  fault.  A  black  shame! 
.     .     .     We  will  write  about  other  matters^ 

"As  to  cultivation,  there  are  no  words  for 
its  excellence  or  for  the  industry  of  the 
cultivators.  They  esteem  manure  most 
highly.  They  have  no  need  to  burn  cow- 
dung  for  fuel.  There  is  abundance  of 
charcoal.  Thus,  not  irrigating  nor  burn- 
ing dung  for  fuel,  their  wealth  increases  of 
itself.  They  build  their  houses  from  an- 
cient times  round  about  mountainous  dung- 
heaps,  upon  which  they  throw  all  things  in 
season.  It  is  a  possession  from  father  to 
son,  and  increase  comes  forth.  Owing 
to  the  number  of  Army  horses  in  certain 
places  there  arises  very  much  horse-dung. 
When  it  is  excessive,  the  officers  cause  a 
little  straw  to  be  lit  near  the  heaps.  The 
French  and  the  Phlahamahnds  seeing  the 
smoke,  assemble  with  carts,  crying: — 
*What  waste  is  this.^'  The  officers  reply: — 
[33] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

'None  will  carry  away  this  dung.  There- 
fore, we  burn  it.'  All  the  cultivators  then 
entreat  for  leave  to  carry  it  away  in  their 
carts,  be  it  only  as  much  as  two  dogs  can 
draw.  By  this  device  horse-lines  are 
cleaned. 

"Listen  to  one  little  thing.  The  women 
and  the  girls  cultivate  as  well  as  the  men  in 
all  respects."  [That  is  a  true  talcy  Sahib. 
We  know — but  my  brother  knows  nothing 
except  the  road  to  market.]  "They  plough 
with  two  and  four  horses  as  great  as  hills. 
The  women  of  Franceville  also  keep  the 
accounts  and  the  bills.  They  make  one 
price  for  everything.  No  second  price  is  to 
be  obtained  by  any  talking.  They  cannot 
be  cheated  over  the  value  of  one  grain. 
Yet  of  their  own  will  they  are  generous 
beyond  belief.  When  we  come  back  from 
our  work  in  the  trenches,  they  arise  at  any 
hour  and  make  us  warm  drinks  of  hot  coffee 
and  milk  and  bread  and  butter.  May  God 
[34] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

reward  these  ladles  a  thousand  times  for 
their  kindness! 

"But  do  not  throw  everything  upon  God. 
I  desire  you  will  get  me  in  Amritsar  City 
a  carpet,  at  the  shop  of  Davee  Sahai  and 
Chumba  Mall — one  yard  in  width  and  one 
yard  and  a  half  in  length,  of  good  colour  and 
quality  to  the  value  of  forty  rupees.  The 
shop  must  send  it  with  all  charges  paid, 
to  the  address  which  I  have  had  written  in 
English  character  on  the  edge  of  this  paper. 
She  is  the  lady  of  the  house  in  which  I  was 
billeted  in  a  village  for  three  months. 
Though  she  was  advanced  in  years  and 
belonged  to  a  high  family,  yet  in  the  whole 
of  those  three  months  I  never  saw  this  old 
lady  sit  idle.  Her  three  sons  had  gone  to 
the  war.  One  had  been  killed;  one  was  in 
hospital,  and  a  third,  at  that  time,  was  in 
the  trenches.  She  did  not  weep  nor  wail 
at  the  death  or  the  sickness  but  accepted 
the  dispensation.  During  the  time  I  was 
[35  1 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

in  her  house,  she  ministered  to  me  to  such 
an  extent  that  I  cannot  adequately  describe 
her  kindness.  Of  her  own  free-will  she 
washed  my  clothes,  arranged  my  bed,  and 
polished  my  boots  daily  for  three  months. 
She  washed  down  my  bedroom  daily  with 
hot  water,  having  herself  heated  it.  Each 
morning  she  prepared  me  a  tray  with 
bread,  butter,  milk  and  coffee.  When  we 
had  to  leave  that  village  that  old  lady  wept 
on  my  shoulder.  It  is  strange  that  I  had 
never  seen  her  weep  for  her  dead  son,  but 
she  wept  for  me.  Moreover,  at  parting 
she  would  have  had  me  take  a  fi-farang  [five 
franc]  note  for  expenses  on  the  road."  [What 
a  zvoman!  What  a  woman!  I  had  never  he^ 
lieved  such  women  existed  in  this  Black  Age.] 
*'If  there  be  any  doubt  of  the  quality 
or  the  colour  of  the  carpet,  ask  for  an 
audience  of  the  Doctor  Linley  Sahib  if  he 
be  still  in  Amritsar.  He  knows  carpets. 
Tell  him  all  I  have  written  concerning  this 
[36] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

old  lady — may  God  keep  her  and  her  re- 
maining household! — and  he  will  advise. 
I  do  not  know  the  Doctor  Sahib,  but  this 
he  will  overlook  in  war-time.  If  the  carpet 
is  even  fifty  rupees,  I  can  securely  pay  out 
of  the  monies  which  our  lands  owe  me. 
She  is  an  old  lady.  It  must  be  soft  to  her 
feet,  and  not  inclined  to  slide  upon  the 
wooden  floor.  She  is  well-born  and  edu- 
cated." [jind  now  we  will  begin  to  enlighten 
him  and  the  elders!] 

*'We  must  cause  our  children  to  be 
educated  in  the  future.  That  is  the  opinion 
of  all  the  Regiment,  for  by  education,  even 
women  accomplish  marvels,  like  the  women 
of  Franceville.  Get  the  boys  and  girls 
taught  to  read  and  write  well.  Here  teach- 
ing is  by  Government  order.  The  men 
go  to  the  war  daily.  It  is  the  women  who 
do  all  the  work  at  home,  having  been  well 
taught  in  their  childhood.  We  have  only 
yoked  one  buffalo  to  the  plough  up  till  now. 
[37  1 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

It  is  now  time  to  yoke  up  the  milch-buflfaloes. 
Tell  the  village  elders  this  and  exercise  in- 
fluence." [Write  that  down  strongly.  Sahib. 
We  who  have  seen  Franc eville  all  know  it  is 
true.] 

"But  as  to  cultivation.  The  methods 
in  Franceville  are  good.  All  tools  are  of 
iron.  They  do  not  break.  A  man  keeps  the 
tools  he  needs  for  his  work  and  his  repairs 
in  his  house  under  his  own  hand.  He  has 
not  to  go  back  to  the  village  a  mile  away  if 
anything  breaks.  We  never  thought,  as 
these  people  do,  that  all  repairs  to  tools  and 
ploughs  can  be  done  on  the  very  spot. 
All  that  is  needed  when  a  strap  breaks,  is 
that  each  ploughman  should  have  an  awl 
and  a  leather-cutter  to  stitch  the  leather. 
How  is  it  with  us  in  our  country.?  If 
leather  breaks,  we  farmers  say  that  leather 
is  unclean,  and  we  go  back  from  the  fields 
into  the  village  to  the  village  cobbler  that 
he  may  mend  it.  Unclean.?  Do  not  we 
I38I 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

handle  that  same  thing  with  the  leather  on 
it  after  it  has  been  repaired?  Do  we  not 
even  drink  water  all  day  with  the  very 
hand  that  has  sweated  into  the  leather? 
Meantime,  we  have  surely  lost  an  hour  or 
two  in  coming  and  going  from  the  fields." 
[He  will  understand  that.  He  chatters  like 
a  monkey  when  the  men  waste  time.  But 
the  village  cobbler  will  be  very  angry  with  me!] 
"The  people  of  Franceville  are  astonished 
to  learn  that  all  our  land  is  full  of  dogs 
which  do  no  work — not  even  to  keep  the 
cattle  out  of  the  tilled  fields.  Among  the 
French,  both  men  and  women  and  little 
children  occupy  themselves  with  work  at 
all  times  on  the  land.  The  children  wear  no 
jewelry,  but  they  are  more  beautiful  than 
I  can  say.  It  is  a  country  where  the 
women  are  not  veiled.  Their  marriage  is 
at  their  own  choice,  and  takes  place  between 
their  twentieth  and  twenty-fifth  year. 
They  seldom  quarrel  or  shout  out.  They 
[39] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

do  not  pilfer  from  each  other.  They  do  not 
tell  lies  at  all.  When  calamity  overtakes 
them  there  is  no  ceremonial  of  grief  such 
as  tearing  the  hair  or  the  like.  They 
swallow  it  down  and  endure  silently. 
Doubtless,  this  is  the  fruit  of  learning  in 
youth." 

[Now  we  will  have  a  word  for  our  Guru  at 
home.  He  is  a  very  holy  man.  Write 
this  carefully,  Sahib.]  "It  is  said  that  the 
French  worship  idols.  I  have  spoken  of 
this  with  my  old  lady  and  her  guru  [priest]. 
It  is  not  true  in  any  way.  There  are  cer- 
tainly images  in  their  shrines  and  deotas 
[local  gods]  to  whom  they  present  petitions 
as  we  do  in  our  home  affairs,  but  the 
prayer  of  the  heart  goes  to  the  God  Him- 
self. I  have  been  assured  this  by  the  old 
priests.  All  the  young  priests  are  fighting 
in  the  war.  The  French  men  uncover  the 
head  but  do  not  take  off  the  shoes  at  prayer. 
They  do  not  speak  of  their  religion  to 
[40] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

strangers,  and  they  do  not  go  about  to  make 
converts.  The  old  priest  in  the  village 
where  I  was  billeted  so  long,  said  that  all 
roads,  at  such  times  as  these,  return  to 
God."  [Our  Guru  at  home  says  that  himself; 
so  he  cannot  be  surprised  if  there  are  others 
who  think  it\  "The  old  priest  gave  me  a 
little  medal  which  he  wished  me  to  wear 
round  my  neck.  Such  medals  are  reckoned 
holy  among  the  French.  He  was  a  very 
holy  man  and  it  averts  the  Evil  Eye.  The 
women  also  carry  holy  beads  to  help  keep 
count  of  their  prayers. 

"Certain  men  of  our  Regiment  divided 
among  themselves  as  many  as  they  could 
pick  up  of  the  string  of  such  beads  that  used 
to  be  carried  by  the  small  maiden  whom  the 
shell  slew.  It  was  found  forty  yards  dis- 
tant from  the  hands.  It  was  that  small 
maiden  who  begged  us  for  our  buttons  and 
had  no  fear.  The  Regiment  made  an 
account  of  it,  reckoning  one  life  of  the 
[41] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

enemy  for  each  bead.  They  deposited 
the  beads  as  a  pledge  with  the  regimental 
clerk.  When  a  man  of  the  guarantors  be- 
came killed,  the  number  of  his  beads  which 
remained  unredeemed  was  added  to  the 
obligation  of  the  other  guarantors,  or  they 
elected  an  inheritor  of  the  debt  in  his  place." 
[He  will  understa7id  that.  It  was  all  very 
correct  and  business-like.  Sahib.  Our  Pathan 
Company  arranged  it.]  "It  was  seven  weeks 
before  all  her  beads  were  redeemed  because 
the  weather  was  bad  and  our  guns  were  strong 
and  the  enemy  did  not  stir  abroad  after 
dark.  When  all  the  account  was  cleared, 
the  beads  were  taken  out  of  pawn  and  re- 
turned to  her  grandfather,  with  a  certifi- 
cate, and  he  wept. 

"This  war  is  not  a  war.  It  is  a  world- 
destroying  battle.  All  that  has  gone  before 
this  war  in  this  world  till  now  has  been 
only  boys  throwing  coloured  powder  at 
each  other.  No  man  could  conceive  it! 
[42I 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

What  do  you  or  the  Mohmunds  or  anyone 
who  has  not  been  here  know  of  war? 
When  the  ignorant  in  future  speak  of  war, 
I  shall  laugh,  even  though  they  be  my  elder 
brethren.  Consider  what  things  are  done 
here  and  for  what  reasons. 

"A  little  before  I  took  my  wounds,  I 
was  on  duty  near  an  officer  who  worked 
in  wire  and  wood  and  earth  to  make  traps 
for  the  enemy.  He  had  acquired  a  tent  of 
green  cloth  upon  sticks,  with  a  window  of 
soft  glass  that  could  not  be  broken.  All 
coveted  the  tent.  It  was  three  paces  long 
and  two  wide.  Among  the  covetous  was 
an  Officer  of  Artillery  in  charge  of  a  gun 
that  shook  mountains.  It  gave  out  a 
shell  of  ten  maunds  or  more  [eight  hundred 
pounds].  But  those  who  have  never  seen 
even  a  rivulet  cannot  imagine  the  Indus. 
He  offered  many  rupees  to  purchase  the 
tent.  He  would  come  at  all  hours  increas- 
ing his  offer.  He  overwhelmed  the  owner 
[43] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

with  talk  about  it."  [/  heard  them  ojten, 
Sahib.]  '*At  last,  and  I  heard  this  also, 
that  tent-owner  said  to  that  Artillery 
Officer: — 'I  am  wearied  with  your  impor- 
tunity. Destroy  to-day  a  certain  house 
that  I  shall  show  you,  and  I  will- give  you 
the  tent  for  a  gift.  Otherwise,  have  no 
more  talk.'  He  showed  him  the  roof  of  a 
certain  white  house  which  stood  back  three 
kos  [six  miles]  in  the  enemy  country,  a  little 
underneath  a  hill  with  woods  on  each  side. 
Consider  this,  measuring  three  kos  in  your 
mind  along  the  Amritsar  Road.  The  Gun- 
ner Officer  said: — 'By  God,  I  accept  this 
bargain.'  He  issued  orders  and  estimated 
the  distance.  I  saw  him  going  back  and 
forth  as  swiftly  as  a  lover.  Then  fire  was 
delivered  and  at  the  fourth  discharge  the 
watchers  through  their  glasses  saw  the 
house  spring  high  and  spread  abroad  and 
lie  upon  its  face.  It  was  as  a  tooth  taken 
out  by  a  barber.  Seeing  this,  the  Gunner 
(44] 


THE  FUMES  OF  THE  HEART 

Officer  sprang  into  the  tent  and  looked 
through  the  window  and  smiled  because 
the  tent  was  now  his.  But  the  enemy  did 
not  understand  the  reasons.  There  was 
a  great  gunfire  all  that  night,  as  well  as 
many  enemy-regiments  moving  about. 
The  prisoners  taken  afterwards  told  us  their 
commanders  were  disturbed  at  the  fall  of 
the  house,  ascribing  it  to  some  great  design 
on  our  part,  so  that  their  men  had  no  rest 
for  a  week.  Yet  it  was  all  done  for  a  little 
green  tent's  sake! 

"I  tell  you  this  that  you  may  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  things.  This  is  a 
world  where  the  very  hills  are  turned  up- 
side down,  with  the  cities  upon  them. 
He  who  comes  alive  out  of  this  business 
will  forever  after  be  as  a  giant.  If  anyone 
wishes  to  see  it  let  him  come  here  or  remain 
disappointed    all   his   life." 

[JVe  will  finish  with  affection  and  sweet 
words.  After  all,  a  brother  is  a  brother^ 
l45l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

"As  for  myself,  why  do  you  write  to  me  so 
many  complaints?  Are  you  fighting  in 
this  war  or  I?  You  know  the  saying: 
*A  soldier's  life  is  for  his  family:  his  death 
is  for  his  country:  his  discomforts  are  for 
himself  alone.'  I  joined  to  fight  when  I 
was  young.  I  have  eaten  the  Govern- 
ment's salt  till  I  am  old.  I  am  discharging 
my  obligation.  When  all  is  at  an  end, 
the  memory  of  our  parting  will  be  but  a 
dream. 

"I  pray  the  Guru  to  bring  together  those 
who  are  separated. 

"God  alone  is  true.  Everything  else  is 
but  a  shadow." 

[That  is  poetry.     Oh — and  add  this,  Sahib.] 

"Let  there  be  no  delay  about  the  carpet. 
She  would  not  accept  anything  else." 


[46I 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Scene:  Three  and  a  half  miles  across  the 
Border — Kohat  way.  Time:  The  edge 
of  sunset.  Single  room  in  a  stone  built 
tower  house  reached  by  a  ladder  from 
the  ground.  An  Afghan  woman,  wrap- 
ped in  a  red  cotton  quilt,  squats  on  the 
floor  trimming  a  small  kerosene  lamp. 
Her  husband,  an  elderly  Afghan  with  a 
purple  dyed  beard,  lies  on  a  native  cot, 
covered  by  a  striped  blue  and  white 
cloth.  He  is  wounded  in  the  knee  and 
hip.  A  Government  rifle  leans  against 
the  cot.  Their  son,  aged  twenty,  kneels 
beside  him,  unfolding  a  letter.  As 
the  mother  places  the  lighted  lamp 
in  a  recess  in  the  wall,  the  son  picks 
[49] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

up  the  rifle  and  pushes  the  half-opened 
door  home  with  the  butt.  The  wife 
passes  her  husband  a  filled  pipe  of 
tobacco,  blowing  on  the  charcoal  ball 
in  the  bowl. 

Son  [as  he  unfolds  letter].  It  is  from  France. 
His  Regiment  is  still  there. 

Father.  What  does  he  say  about  the 
money  ? 

Son  [reading].  He  says:  "I  am  made  easy 
by  the  news  that  you  are  now  receiving 
my  pay-allotment  regularly.  You  may 
depend  upon  its  coming  every  month 
henceforward.  I  have  also  sent  eleven 
rupees  over  and  above  the  allotment. 
It  is  a  gift  towards  the  purchase  of 
the  machine  needed  in  your  business." 

Father  [drawing  a  cheap  nickel-plated  re- 
volver from  his  breast].  It  is  a  good 
machine,  and  he  is  a  good  son.  What 
else. 

Son.  He  says:  **You  tell  me  our  enemies 
[SO] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

have  killed  my  uncle  and  my  brother, 
beside  wounding  our  father.  I  am  very 
far  away  and  can  give  no  help  what- 
ever. It  is  a  matter  for  great  regret. 
Our  enemies  are  now  two  lives  to 
the  good  against  us  in  the  account.  We 
must  take  our  revenge  quickly.  The 
responsibility,  I  suppose,  is  altogether 
on  the  head  of  my  youngest  brother." 

Father.  But  I  am  still  good  for  sitting- 
shots. 

Mother  [soothingly].  Ah!  But  he  means, 
to  think  over  all  the  arrangements. 
Wounded  men  cannot  think  clearly 
till  the  fever  is  out  of  the  wound. 

Son  [reading].  "  My  youngest  brother  said 
he  would  enlist  after  me  when  the 
harvest  was  gathered.  That  is  now 
out  of  the  question.  Tell  him  he  must 
attend  to  the  work  in  hand."  (That 
is  true,  I  cannot  enlist  now.)  "Tell 
him  not  to  wander  about  after  the 
[SI] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

people  who  did  the  actual  killing. 
They  will  probably  have  taken  refuge 
on  the  Government  side  of  the  Bor- 
der." (That  is  true,  too.  It  is  ex- 
actly what  they  did.)  "  Even  up  the 
account  from  the  nearest  household 
of  our  enemies.  This  will  force  the 
murderers  for  their  honour's  sake  to 
return  and  attend  to  their  proper 
business  when — God  willing — they  can 
be  added  as  a  bonus.  Take  our  revenge 
quickly." 

Father  [stroking  beard].  This  is  all  wis- 
dom. I  have  a  man  for  a  son.  What 
else  does  he  say,  Akbar.? 

Son.  He  says:  "I  have  a  letter  from 
Kohat  telling  me  that  a  certain  man 
of  a  family  that  we  know  is  coming 
out  here  with  a  draft  in  order  to  settle 
with  me  for  an  account  which  he  says 
I  opened." 

Mother  [quickly].  Would  that  be  Gul 
[52] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Shere  Khan — about  that  Peshawari 
girl? 
Son.  Perhaps.  But  Ahmed  is  not  afraid. 
Listen!  He  says:  '*If  that  man  or 
even  his  brothers  wish  to  come  to 
France  after  me  I  shall  be  very  pleased. 
If,  in  fact,  anyone  wishes  to  kill  me, 
let  them  by  all  means  come  out. 
I  am  here  present  in  the  field  of  battle. 
I  have  placed  my  life  on  a  tray.  The 
people  in  our  country  who  talk  about 
killing  are  children.  They  have  not 
seen  the  reality  of  things.  We  do  not 
turn  our  heads  when  forty  are  killed 
at  a  breath.  Men  are  swallowed  up  or 
blown  apart  here  as  one  divides  meat. 
When  we  are  in  the  trenches,  there  is 
no  time  to  strike  a  blow  on  the  private 
account.  When  we  are  at  rest  in  the 
villages,  one's  lust  for  killing  has  been 
satisfied.  Two  men  joined  us  in  the 
draft  last  month  to  look  after  a  close 
[53] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

friend  of  mine  with  whom  they  had  a 
private  account.  They  were  great 
swash-bucklers  at  first.  They  even 
volunteered  to  go  into  the  trenches 
though  it  was  not  their  turn  of  duty. 
They  expected  that  their  private  ac- 
count could  be  settled  during  some 
battle.  Since  that  turn  of  duty  they 
have  become  quite  meek.  They  had, 
till  then,  only  seen  men  killed  by  ones 
and  twos,  half  a  mile  separating  them. 
This  business  was  like  killing  flies  on 
sugar.  Have  no  fear  for  me,  therefore, 
no  matter  who  joins  the  Regiment. 
It  needs  a  very  fierce  stomach  to  add 
anything  to  our  Government  rations." 

Mother.  He  writes  like  a  poet,  my  son. 
That  is  wonderful  writing. 

Father.  All  the  young  men  write  the 
same  with  regard  to  the  war.  It 
quite  satisfies  all  desires.  What  else 
does  he  say.? 

[54I 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Son  [summarizing].  He  says  that  he  is 
well  fed  and  has  learned  to  drink  the 
French  coffee.  He  says  there  are  two 
sorts  of  French  tobacco — one  yellow, 
one  blue.  The  blue,  he  says,  is  the 
best.  They  are  named  for  the  papers 
they  are  wrapped  in.  He  says  that  on 
no  account  must  we  send  him  any 
opium  or  drugs,  because  the  punishment 
for  drugging  is  severe  and  the  doctors 
are  quick  to  discover.  He  desires  to  be 
sent  to  him  some  strong  hair-dye  of 
the  sort  that  our  father  uses. 

Mother  [with  a  gesture].  Hair-dye!  He 
is  a  child.     What's  he  been  doing? 

Son.  He  says  he  wishes  to  win  favour 
from  his  native  officer  whose  white 
hairs  are  showing  and  who  has  no 
proper  dye.  He  says  he  will  repay  the 
cost  and  that  no  charges  are  made 
for  the  parcel.  It  must  be  very  strong 
henna-dye. 

[55I 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

Mother  [langlmig].  It  shall  be.  I  will 
make  It  myself.  A  start  it  gave  me 
to  hear  him  ask  for  dyes!  They  are 
not  due  for  another  twenty  years. 

Father  [fretfully].  Read  it.  Read  it  all 
as  it  is  written,  word  for  word.  What 
else  does  he  say? 

Son.  He  speaks  of  the  country  of  the 
French.  Listen!  He  says:  "This 
country  is  full  of  precious  objects, 
such  as  grain,  ploughs,  and  imple- 
ments, and  sheep  which  lie  about  the 
fields  by  day  with  none  to  guard  them. 
The  French  are  a  virtuous  people  and 
do  not  steal  from  each  other.  If  a 
man  merely  approaches  towards  any- 
thing there  are  eyes  watching  him. 
To  take  one  chicken  Is  to  loosen  the 
tongues  of  fifty  old  women.  I  was 
warned  on  joining  that  the  testimony 
of  one  such  would  outweigh  the  testi- 
mony of  six  honourable  Pathans.  It 
[56] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

is  true.  Money  and  valuables  are, 
therefore,  left  openly  In  houses.  None 
dare  even  to  look  at  them  with  a 
covetous  eye.  I  have  seen  two  hun- 
dred rupees'  worth  of  clothing  hung  up 
on  a  nail.  None  knew  the  owner, 
yet  it  remained  till  her  return.  ' 

Mother.  That  is  the  country  for  me! 
Dresses  worth  two  hundred  rupees 
hangipg  on  nails!  Princesses  all  they 
must  be. 

Son  [continuing].  Listen  to  these  fresh 
marvels.  He  says:  "We  reside  in 
brick  houses  with  painted  walls  of 
flowers  and  birds;  we  sit  upon  chairs 
covered  with  silks.  We  sleep  on  high 
beds  that  cost  a  hundred  rupees  each. 
There  is  glass  In  all  the  doors  and 
windows;  the  abundance  of  iron  and 
brass,  pottery,  and  copper  kltchen- 
utensils  Is  not  to  be  estimated.  Every 
house  is  a  palace  of  entertainment 
[57] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

filled  with  clocks,  lamps,  candlesticks, 
gildings,  and  images.' 

Father.  What  a  country!  What  a  coun- 
try! How  much  will  he  be  able  to 
bring  back  of  it  all? 

Son.  He  says:  "The  inhabitants  defend 
their  possessions  to  the  uttermost — 
even  down  to  the  value  of  half  a 
chicken  or  a  sheep's  kidney.  They 
do  not  keep  their  money  in  their 
houses,  but  send  it  away  on  loan. 
Their  rates  of  interest  are  very  low. 
They  talk  among  themselves  of  loans 
and  pledges  and  the  gaining  of  money, 
just  as  we  do.  We  Indian  troops  are 
esteemed  and  honoured  by  all,  by  the 
children  specially.  These  children 
wear  no  jewelry.  Therefore,  there  are 
no  murders  committed  for  the  sake  of 
ornaments  except  by  the  enemy.  These 
children  resemble  small  moons.  They 
make  mud  figures  in  their  play  of  men 
[58] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

and  horses.  He  who  can  add  figures 
of  oxen,  elephants  and  palanquins  Is 
highly  praised.  Do  you  remember 
when  I  used  to  make  them.?" 

Mother.  Do  I  remember.?  Am  I  a  block 
of  wood  or  an  old  churn?  Go  on, 
Akbar?    What  of  my  child.? 

Son.  He  says:  ''When  the  children  are 
not  in  the  school  they  are  at  work  in  the 
fields  from  their  earliest  years.  They 
soon  lose  all  fear  of  us  soldiers,  and 
drill  us  up  and  down  the  streets  of  the 
villages.  The  smallest  salute  on  all 
occasions.  They  suffer  little  from  sick- 
ness. The  old  women  here  are  skilful  in 
medicines.  They  dry  the  leaves  of  trees 
and  give  them  for  a  drink  against 
diseases.  One  old  woman  gave  me  an 
herb  to  chew  for  a  worm  in  my  tooth 
[toothache]  which  cured  me  in  an  hour." 

Mother.     God    reward    that    woman!    I 
wonder  what  she  used. 
I  59] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

Son.  He  says:  ^'She  is  my  French 
mother." 

Mother.  What-t!  How  many  mothers 
has  a  man?  But  God  reward  her 
none  the  less!  It  must  have  been 
that  old  double-tooth  at  the  back  on 
the  left  lower  side,  for  I   remember — 

Father.  Let  it  wait.  It  is  cured  now. 
What  else  does  he  write  .f* 

Son.  He  writes,  making  excuses  for  not 
having  written.  He  says:  '*I  have 
been  so  occupied  and  sent  from  one 
place  to  another  that  on  several  oc- 
casions I  have  missed  the  post.  I 
know  you  must  have  experienced  anx- 
iety. But  do  not  be  displeased.  Let  my 
mother  remember  that  I  can  only  write 
when  I  have  opportunity,  and  the  only 
remedy  for  helplessness  is  patience." 

Father  [groaning].     Ah!     He  has  not  yet 
been    wounded,    and    he    sets    himself 
up  for  a  physician. 
(60] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Mother.  He  speaks  wisely  and  beautifully. 
But  what  of  his  "French  mother" — • 
burn  her! 

Son.  He  says:  "Moreover,  this  French 
mother  of  mine  in  France  is  displeased 
with  me  if  I  do  not  write  to  her  about 
my  welfare.  My  mother,  like  you,  my 
French  mother  does  all  she  can  for  my 
welfare.  I  cannot  write  sufficiently 
in  praise  of  what  she  does  for  me. 
When  I  was  in  the  village  behind  the 
trench  if,  on  any  day,  by  reason  of 
duty,  I  did  not  return  till  evening,  she, 
herself,  would  come  in  search  of  me  and 
lead  me  back  to  the  house. 

Mother.  Aha!  She  knew!  I  wish  I 
could  have  caught  him  by  the  other 
ear! 

Son.     He  says:    "And  when  I  was  sent 

away  on  duty  to  another  village,  and 

so  could  not  find  time  to  write  either 

to  you  or  to  her,  she  came  close  to  the 

[6i] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

place  where  I  was  and  where  no  one  is 
permitted  to  come  and  asked  to  see  her 
boy.  She  brought  with  her  a  great 
parcel  of  things  for  me  to  eat.  What 
more  am  I  to  say  for  the  concern  she 
has  for  my  welfare.^" 

Mother.  Fools  all  old  women  are!  May 
God  reward  that  Kafir  woman  for  her 
kindness,  and  her  children  after  her. 
.  .  As  though  any  orders  could  keep 
out  a  mother!  Does  he  say  what  she 
resembles  in  the  face? 

Son.  No.  He  goes  on  to  speak  more 
about  the  customs  of  the  French. 
He  says:  *'The  new  men  who  join  us 
come  believing  they  are  in  the  country 
of  the  Rakshas  [Demons].  They  are 
told  this  by  the  ignorant  on  their 
departure.  It  is  always  cold  here. 
Many  clothes  are  worn.  The  sun  is 
absent.  The  wet  is  present.  Yet 
this  France  is  a  country  created  by 
[62] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Allah,  and  its  people  are  manifestly  a 
reasonable  people  with  reason  for  all 
they  do.  The  windows  of  their  houses 
are  well  barred.  The  doors  are  strong, 
with  locks  of  a  sort  I  have  never  before 
tried.  Their  dogs  are  faithful.  They 
gather  in  and  keep  their  kine  and  their 
asses  and  their  hens  under  their  hands 
at  night.  Their  cattle  graze  and  re- 
turn at  the  proper  hour  in  charge  of 
the  children.  They  prune  their  fruit 
trees  as  carefully  as  our  barbers  attend 
to  men's  nostrils  and  ears.  The  old 
women  spin,  walking  up  and  down. 
Scissors,  needles,  threads,  and  buttons 
are  exposed  for  sale  on  stalls  in  a  market. 
They  carry  hens  by  the  feet.  Butchers 
sell  dressed  portions  of  fowls  and  sheep 
ready  to  be  cooked.  There  is  aniseed, 
coriander,  and  very  good  garlic." 
Mother.  But  all  this — but  all  this  is  our 
very  own  way — 

[63] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

Son.  He  says  so.  He  says:  ''Seeing 
these  things,  the  new  men  are  relieved 
in  their  minds.  Do  not  be  anxious 
for  me.  These  people  precisely  resem- 
ble all  mankind.  They  are,  however, 
idolators.  They  do  not  speak  to  any 
of  us  about  their  religion.  Their 
Imams  [priests]  are  old  men  of  pious 
appearance,  living  in  poverty.  They 
go  about  their  religious  offices,  even 
while  the  shells  fall.  Their  God  is 
called  Bandoo  [Bon  Dieur].  There  is 
also  the  Bibbee  Miriam  [the  Virgin 
Mary].  She  is  worshipped  on  ac- 
count of  the  intelligence  and  capacity 
of  the  women." 

Father.  Hmm!  Ah!  This  travelling 
about  is  bad  for  the  young.  Women 
are  women — world  over.  What  else, 
Akbar.? 

Son  [reading].  "There  are  holy  women  in 
this  country,  dressed  in  black  who  wear 
[64] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

horns  of  white  cloth  on  their  heads. 
They  too,  are  without  any  sort  of  fear 
of  death  from  the  falling  shells.  I 
am  acquainted  with  one  such  who 
often  commands  me  to  carry  vegetables 
from  the  market  to  the  house  which 
they  inhabit.  It  is  filled  with  the 
fatherless.  She  is  very  old,  very  high- 
born, and  of  irascible  temper.  All 
men  call  her  Mother.  The  Colonel 
himself  salutes  her.  Thus  are  all  sorts 
mingled  in  this  country  of  France." 

Mother.  Ha!  Well,  at  least  that  holy 
woman  was  well-born,  but  she  is  too 
free  with  her  tongue.     Go  on! 

Son.  He  says:  "Through  my  skill  with 
my  rifle,  I  have  been  made  a  sharp- 
shooter. A  special  place  is  given  to 
me  to  shoot  at  the  enemy  singly. 
This  was  old  work  to  me.  This  coun- 
try was  flat  and  open  at  the  beginning. 
In  time  it  became  all  kandari-kauderi — 
[65] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

cut  up — with  trenches  y  sun  gars  and  bye- 
ways  in  the  earth.  Their  faces  show 
well  behind  the  loop-holes  of  their 
sungars.  The  distance  was  less  than 
three  hundred  yards.  Great  cunning 
was  needed.  Before  they  grew  careful, 
I  accounted  for  nine  in  five  days. 
It  is  more  difficult  by  night.  They 
then  send  up  fireballs  which  light  all 
the  ground.  This  is  a  good  arrange- 
ment to  reveal  one's  enemy,  but  the 
expense  would  be  too  great  for  poor 
people." 

Father.  He  thinks  of  everything — every- 
thing! Even  of  the  terrible  cost  for 
us  poor  people. 

Son  [reading].  "I  attended  the  funeral  of 
a  certain  French  child.  She  was 
known  to  us  all  by  the  name  of  *Marri' 
which  is  Miriam.  She  would  openly 
claim  the  Regiment  for  her  own  regi- 
ment in  the  face  of  the  Colonel  walking 
(66] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

in  the  street.  She  was  slain  by  a  shell 
while  grazing  cattle.  What  remained 
was  carried  upon  a  litter  precisely 
after  our  custom.  There  were  no 
hired  mourners.  All  mourners  walked 
slowly  behind  the  litter,  the  women 
with  the  men.  It  is  not  their  custom  to 
scream  or  beat  the  breast.  They  re- 
cite all  prayers  above  the  grave  itself 
for  they  reckon  the  burial-ground  to 
be  holy.  The  prayers  are  recited  by 
the  Imam  of  the  village.  The  grave 
is  not  bricked  and  there  is  no  recess. 
They  do  not  know  that  the  Two  Angels 
visit  the  dead.  They  say  at  the  end, 
'Peace  and  Mercy  be  on  you'." 

Mother.  One  sees  as  he  writes!  He 
would  have  made  a  great  priest,  this 
son  of  ours.  So  they  pray  over  their 
dead,  out  yonder,  those  foreigners  ? 

Father.  Even  a  Kafir  may  pray,  but — 
they  are  manifestly  Kafirs  or  they 
(67] 


would  not  [jTcLj  ill  i  -r  ive-yard.  Go 
on! 

Son.  "When  their  prayers  were  done,  our 
Havildar-Major,  who  is  orthodox,  re- 
cited the  appropriate  verse  from  the 
Koran,  and  cast  a  little  mud  into  the 
grave.  The  Imam  of  the  village  then 
embraced  him.  I  do  not  know  if  this 
is  the  custom.  The  French  weep  very 
little.  The  French  women  are  small- 
handed  and  small-footed.  They  bear 
themselves  in  walking  as  though  they 
were  of  birth  and  descent.  They  com- 
mune with  themselves,  walking  up  and 
down.  Their  lips  move.  This  is  on 
account  of  their  dead.  They  are  never 
abashed  or  at  a  loss  for  words.  They 
forget  nothing.  Nothing  either  do 
they  forgive." 

Mother.  Good.  Very  good.  That  is  the 
right  honour. 

Son.  Listen!  He  says:  "Each  ^village 
[681 


keeps  a  \^i:r  veii^acMiiftt  of  all  that  the 
enemy  has  done  against  it.  If  a  life 
— a  life,  whether  it  be  man  or  priest,  or 
hostage,  or  woman  or  babe.  Every 
horn  driven  off;  and  every  feather;  all 
bricks  and  tiles  broken,  all  things 
burned,  and  their  price,  are  written  in 
the  account.  The  shames  and  the 
insults  are  also  written.  There  is  no 
price  set  against  them." 

Father.  This  is  without  flaw!  This  Is  a 
people!  There  is  never  any  price  for 
shame  offered.  And  they  write  it  all 
down.     Marvellous! 

Son.  Yes.  He  says:  "Each  village  keeps 
its  own  tally  and  all  tallies  go  to  their 
Government  to  be  filed.  The  whole 
of  the  country  of  France  is  in  one  great 
account  against  the  enemy — for  the 
loss,  for  the  lives,  and  for  the  shames 
done.  It  has  been  kept  from  the  first. 
The  women  keep  it  with  the  men. 
[69I  • 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

All  French  women  read,  write,  and 
cast  accounts  from  youth.  By  this 
they  are  able  to  keep  the  great  account 
against  the  enemy.  I  think  that  it  is 
good  that  our  girls  should  get  schooling 
like  this.  Then  we  shall  have  no  more 
confusion  in  our  accounts.  It  is  only 
to  add  up  the  sums  lost  and  the  lives. 
We  should  teach  our  girls.  We  are 
fools  compared  with  these  people.'* 

Mother.  But  a  Pathani  girl  remembers 
without  all  this  book-work.  It  is 
waste.  Who  of  any  decent  descent 
ever  forgot  a  blood-debt  ?  He  must  be 
sickening  for  illness  to  write  thus. 

Father.  One  should  not  forget.  Yet  we 
depend  on  songs  and  tales.  It  is  more 
secure — certainly,  it  is  more  business- 
like— that  a  written  account  should 
be  kept.  Since  it  is  the  men  who  must 
pay  off  the  debt,  why  should  not  the 
women  keep  it  ? 

[70] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Mother.  They  can  keep  tally  on  a 
stick  or  a  distaff.  It  is  unnecessary 
for  a  girl  to  scribble  in  books.  They 
never  come  to  good  ends.  They  end 
by- 

Son.  Sometimes,  my  mother,  sometimes. 
On  the  Government  side  of  the  Border, 
women  are  taught  to  read,  and  write, 
and  cast  accounts,  and — 

Mother  [zvith  intention].  Far  be  the  day 
when  such  an  one  is  brought  to  my 
house  as  a  bride.     For  /  say — 

Father.  No  matter.  What  does  he  say 
about  those  French  women? 

Son.  He  says:  "They  are  not  divided  in 
opinion  as  to  which  of  their  enemies 
shall  be  sought  after  first.  They  say: 
*Let  us  even  the  account  every  day  and 
night  out  of  the  nearest  assembly  of 
the  enemy  and  when  we  have  brought 
all  the  enemy  into  the  right  way  of 
thinking  we  can  demand  the  very 
[71] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

people  who  did  the  shame  and  offences. 
In  the  meantime,  let  it  be  any  life.' 
This  is  good  counsel  for  us  in  our  ac- 
count, oh  my  mother." 

Father  [after  a  pause].  True!  True!  It 
is  good  advice.  Let  it  be  any  life. 
.     .     .     Is  that  all.? 

Son.  That  is  all.  He  says:  "Let  it  be  any 
life."     And  I  think  so  too. 

Mother.  ''Any  life."  Even  so!  And 
then  we  can  write  to  him  quickly  that 
we  have  taken  our  revenge  quickly. 
[She  reaches  for  her  husband's  rifle 
which  she  passes  over  to  her  son,  who 
stretches  his  hand  towards  it  with  a 
glance  at  his  father.] 

Father.  On  your  head,  Akbar,  our  ac- 
count must  lie — at  least  till  I  am 
better.     Do   you   try   to-night  .f* 

Son.  May  be!  I  wish  we  had  the  high- 
priced  illuminating  fireballs  he  spoke 
of.     [Half  rises.] 

[72] 


THE  PRIVATE  ACCOUNT 

Mother.  Wait  a  little.  There  is  the  call 
for  the  Ishr  [the  evening  prayer]. 

Muezzin  [in  the  village  mosque  without  as  the 
first  stars  show].  God  is  great!  God 
is  great!  God  is  great!  I  bear  wit- 
ness, etc. 

[The  family  compose  themselves  for  evening 
prayer.] 


[73] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

To  the  sister  of  the  pensioned  Risaldar 
Major  Ahdul  Qadr  Khan,  at  her  own  house 
behind  the  shrine  of  Gulu  Shah  near  by  the 
village  of  Korake  in  the  Pasrur  Tehsil  of  the 
Sialkot  District  in  the  Province  of  the  Punjab. 
Sent  out  of  the  country  of  France  on  the  23rd 
of  August,  1916,  by  Dufadar  Abdul  Rahman 
of  the  132nd  (Pakpattan)  Cavalry — late  Lam- 
barfs  Horse. 

IVlother!  The  news  is  that  once  only  in 
five  months  I  have  not  received  a  letter  from 
you.  My  thoughts  are  always  with  you. 
Mother,  put  your  ear  down  and  listen  to 
me.  Do  not  fret;  I  will  soon  be  with  you 
again.  Imagine  that  I  have  merely  gone  to 
[77] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

Lyallpur  [the  big  recuiting-depot  in  India]; 
think  that  I  have  been  delayed  there  by  an 
officer's  order,  or  that  I  am  not  yet  ready 
to  come  back.  Mother,  think  of  me  always 
as  though  I  were  sitting  near  by,  just  as  I 
imagine  you  always  beside  me.  Be  of 
good  cheer.  Mother,  there  is  nothing  that 
I  have  done  which  is  hidden  from  you. 
I  tell  you  truly,  Mother,  I  will  salute  you 
again.  Do  not  grieve.  I  tell  you  confi- 
dently I  shall  bow  before  you  again  in  sal- 
utation. It  will  be  thus.  Mother.  I  shall 
come  in  the  dead  of  the  night  and  knock 
at  your  door.  Then  I  will  call  loudly  that 
you  may  wake  and  open  the  door  to  me. 
With  great  delight  you  will  open  the  door 
and  fold  me  to  your  breast,  my  Mother. 
Then  I  will  sit  down  beside  you  and  tell 
you  what  has  happened  to  me — good  and 
evil.  Then  having  rested  the  night  in 
comfort  I  will  go  out  after  the  day  has  come 
and  I  will  salute  all  my  brethren  at  the 
I  78  1 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

mosque  and  in  the  village.  Then  I  will  return 
and  eat  my  bread  in  pleasure  and  happiness. 
You,  Mother,  will  say  to  me:  "Shall  I 
give  you  some  ghi?"  [native  butter].  I 
will  say  at  first  proudly,  like  one  who  has 
travelled: — "No,  I  want  none."  You  will 
press  me,  and  I  will  softly  push  my  plate 
over  to  you  and  you  will  fill  it  with  ghi, 
and  I  shall  dip  my  cake  in  it  with  delight. 
Believe  me.  Mother,  this  homecoming  will 
take  place  just  as  I  have  described  it.  I 
see  you  before  me  always.  It  seems  to  me 
only  yesterday  that  I  bent  to  your  feet 
when  I  made  salutation  and  you  put  your 
hand  upon  my  head. 

Mother,  put  your  trust  in  God  to  guard 
my  head.  If  'my  grave  lies  in  France  it 
can  never  be  in  the  Punjab,  though  we 
try  for  a  thousand  years.  If  it  be  in  the 
Punjab  then  I  shall  certainly  return  to  it  to 
that  very  place.  Meantime,  Mother,  con- 
sider what  I  have  to  eat.  This  is  the  true 
[79] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

list.  I  eat  daily  sugar  and  ghi  and  flour,  salt, 
meat,  red  peppers,  some  almonds  and  dates, 
sweets  of  various  kinds  as  well  as  raisins 
and  cardamoms.  In  the  morning  I  eat 
tea  and  white  biscuits.  An  hour  after, 
halwa  and  puri  [native  dishes].  At  noon, 
tea  and  bread;  at  seven  o'clock  of  the  even- 
ing, vegetable  curry.  At  bedtime  I  drink 
milk.  There  is  abundance  of  milk  in  this 
country.  I  am  more  comfortable  here,  I 
swear  it  to  you.  Mother,  than  any  high 
officer  in  India.  As  for  our  clothing,  there 
is  no  account  kept  of  it.  You  would  cry 
out,  Mother,  to  see  the  thick  cloth  expended. 
So  I  beg  you.  Mother,  to  take  comfort  con- 
cerning your  son.  Do  not  tear  my  heart  by 
telling  me  your  years.  Though  we  both 
lived  to  be  as  old  as  elephants  I  am  your  son 
who  will  come  asking  for  you  as  I  said,  at 
your  door. 

As  to  the  risk  of  death,  who  is  free  from 
it  anywhere.'*     Certainly  not  in  the   Pun- 
f  8ol 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

jab.  I  hear  that  all  those  religious  mendi- 
cants at  Zilabad  have  proclaimed  a  holy 
fair  this  summer  in  order  that  pious  people 
may  feed  them,  and  now,  having  collected 
in  thousands  beside  the  river  In  hot  weather, 
they  have  spread  cholera  all  over  the  dis- 
trict. There  is  trouble  raging  throughout 
all  the  world,  Mother,  and  yet  these  sons  of 
mean  fathers  must  proclaim  a  beggars' 
festival  in  order  to  add  to  it !  There  should 
be  an  order  of  the  Government  to  take  all 
those  lazy  rascals  out  of  India  into  France 
and  put  them  in  our  front-line  that  their 
bodies  may  be  sieves  for  the  machine  guns. 
Why  cannot  they  blacken  their  faces  and 
lie  in  a  corner  with  a  crust  of  bread  ?  It  is 
certainly  right  to  feed  the  family  priests, 
Mother,  but  when  the  idle  assemble  in 
thousands  begging  and  making  sickness 
and  polluting  the  drinking-water,  punish- 
ment should  be  administered. 
Very  much  sickness,  such  as  cholera  and 
[8i]' 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

dysentery,  is  caused  by  drinking  foul  water. 
Therefore,  it  is  best  to  have  it  boiled. 
Mother,  no  matter  what  is  said.  When 
clothes  are  washed  in  foul  water,  sickness 
also  spreads.  You  will  say.  Mother,  that 
I  am  no  longer  a  trooper  but  a  washer- 
woman or  an  apothecary,  but  I  swear  to 
you,  my  Mother,  what  I  have  said  is  true. 
Now,  I  have  two  charges  to  deliver  to  you 
as  to  the  household  under  you.  I  beg  you, 
my  Mother,  to  give  order  that  my  son  drink 
water  which  is  boiled,  at  least  from  the 
beginning  of  the  hot  weather  till  after  the 
Rains.  That  is  one  charge.  The  second  is 
that  when  I  was  going  down  to  the  sea  with 
the  Regiment  from  home,  the  Lady  Doctor 
Sahiba  in  the  Civil  Lines  asked  of  our 
Colonel's  lady  whether  any  of  us  desired  that 
their  households  should  take  the  charm 
against  the  small-pox  [be  vaccinated],  I  was 
then  busy  with  my  work  and  I  made  no  reply. 
Now  let  that  Doctor  Sahiba  know  that  I 

182] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

desire  by  her  favour  that  my  son  take  the 
charm  as  soon  as  may  be..  I  charge  you, 
Mother,  upon  his  head  that  it  is  done  soon. 
I  beg  you  respectfully  to  take  this  charge 
upon  you. 

Oh,  my  Mother,  if  I  could  now  see  you 
for  but  half  of  one  watch  in  the  night  or  at 
evening  preparing  food !  I  remember  the  old 
days  in  my  dreamings  but  when  I  awake — 
there  is  the  sleeper  and  there  is  the  bedding 
and  it  is  more  far  off  than  Delhi.  But  God 
will  accomplish  the  meetings  and  surely 
arrange  the  return. 

Mother,  before  going  out  to  the  attack 
the  other  day,  I  had  a  dream.  I  dreamed 
that  a  great  snake  appeared  in  our  trenches 
in  France  and  at  the  same  time  our  Pir 
Murshid  [our  family  priest]  whose  face  I 
saw  quite  clearly,  appeared  with  a  stick 
and  destroyed  it.  Well  then.  Mother,  our 
lot  went  in  to  the  attack  and  returned  from 
it  safely.  Those  who  were  fated  to  be  the 
183  1 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

victims  of  death  were  taken  and  those  who 
were  fated  to  be  wounded  were  wounded; 
and  all  our  party  returned  safely.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Government  secured  a  vic- 
tory and  the  Regiment  obtained  renown. 
It  was  our  horse  that  went  out  over  the 
trenches,  Mother,  and  the  Germans,  being 
alarmed,  fled.  We  were  forbidden  to  pursue 
because  of  hidden  guns.  This  was  trouble 
to  us.  We  owed  them  much  blood  on  our 
brethren's  account.  Tell  the  Murshid  my 
dream  and  ask  him  for  a  full  interpretation. 
I  have  also  seen  our  Murshid  twice  before 
in  my  dreams.  Ask  him  why  he  comes  to 
me  thus.  I  am  not  conscious  of  any  wrong- 
doing, and  if  it  is  a  sign  of  favour  to  me, 
then  the  shape  should  speak. 

I  am  quite  aware  how  God  rewards  the 
unwilling.  He  is  all  powerful.  Look  at  the 
case  of  that  man  of  our  own  family  who  was 
ordered  to  the  front  with  a  higher  rank. 
He  refused  promotion  in  order  to  stay  be- 
[84] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

hind,  and  In  a  month's  time  he  died  of  the 
plague  in  his  own  village.  If  he  had  gone 
to  the  front  his  family  would  have  received 
the  war  pension.  An  atheist  never  achieves 
honour.  Mother.  He  is  always  unsettled 
and  has  no  consolations.  Do  we  Mussul- 
mans think  that  the  Prophet  will  spend  all 
his  time  in  asking  God  to  forgive  our  trans- 
gressions? Tell  the  Pir  Murshid  what  I 
have  written. 

Mother,  put  down  your  ear  and  listen  to 
me  in  this  matter,  my  Mother.  There  is 
one  thing  I  wish  to  impress  earnestly  on  you. 
You  must  know  that  among  recruits  for  the 
Regiment  there  are  too  few  of  our  kind  of 
Mussulmans.  They  are  sending  recruits 
from  the  Punjab  who  were  formerly  la- 
bourers and  common  workmen.  The  con- 
sequence of  this  is,  in  the  Regiment,  that 
we  Mussulmans  are  completely  outnumbered 
by  these  low  people,  and  the  promotions 
go  accordingly.  Each  of  our  troops,  my 
[85I 


THE\EYES  OF  ASIA 

Mother,  has  been  divided  into  two;  that  is 
to  say  there  are  four  troops  to  a  squadron. 
We  Mussuhnans  should  have  at  least  two 
troops  out  of  the  four,  but  owing  to  the  lack 
of  recruits  we  have  not  sufficient  men  of 
our  faith  to  form  more  than  one.  Now, 
Mother,  as  it  was  in  our  fathers^  time, 
he  who  supplies  the  men  gets  the  promo- 
tion. Therefore,  if  our  friends  at  home, 
and  especially  our  Pir  Murshid,  would  exert 
themselves  to  supply  fifteen  or  twenty 
recruits,  I  could  approach  my  Colonel 
Sahib  in  regard  to  promotion.  If  my 
Colonel  received  my  request  favourably 
then  you  at  home  would  only  have  the 
trouble  to  provide  the  men.  But  I  do  not 
think.  Mother,  there  would  be  any  trouble 
if  our  Pir  Murshid  exerted  himself  in  the 
matter  and  if  my  father's  brother  also 
exerted  himself.  A  family  is  a  family  even 
[if  it  be]  scattered  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Mother.  My  father's  brother's  name  is 
[86] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

still  remembered  in  the  Regiment  on  ac- 
count of  his  long  service  and  his  great  deeds 
of  old.  Tell  him,  my  Mother,  that  the  men 
talk  of  him  daily  as  though  he  had  only 
resigned  yesterday.  If  he  rides  out  among 
the  villages  with  his  medals  he  will  certainly 
fetch  in  many  of  our  class.  If  it  were  fifty 
it  would  mean  much  more  influence  for  me 
with  my  Colonel.  He  is  very  greedy  for 
our  class  of  Mahommedans. 

Mother,  our  Pir  Murshid  too,  is  a  very 
holy  man.  If  he  preached  to  them  after 
harvest  he  would  fetch  in  many  and  I 
should  be  promoted,  and  the  pensions  go 
with  the  promotion.  In  a  short  time  by 
God's  assistance,  I  might  command  a  troop 
if  sufficient  recruits  were  attained  by  the 
exertions  of  my  friends  and  well-wishers. 
The  honour  of  one  is  the  honour  of  all. 
Lay  all  this  before  the  Murshid  and  my 
uncle. 

None  of  the  Cavalry  have  yet  done  any- 
[87] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

thing  to  compare  with  our  Regiment. 
This  may  be  because  of  fate  or  that  their 
nature  is  not  equal  to  ours.  There  is  great 
honour  to  be  got  out  of  a  lance  before  long. 
The  war  has  become  loosened  and  cavalry 
patrols  are  being  sent  forward.  We  have 
driven  Mama  Lumra  [a  nickname  for  the 
enemy]  several  miles  across  country.  He 
has  planted  his  feet  again  but  it  is  not  the 
same  Mama  Lumra.  His  arrogance  is 
gone.  Our  guns  turn  the  earth  upside  down 
upon  him.  He  has  made  himself  houses 
underground  which  are  in  all  respects  fort- 
resses with  beds,  chairs  and  lights.  Our 
guns  break  these  in.  There  is  little  to  see 
because  Mama  Lumra  is  buried  under- 
neath. These  days  are  altogether  different 
from  the  days  when  all  our  Army  was  here 
and  Mama  Lumra's  guns  overwhelmed  us 
by  day  and  by  night.  Now  Mama  Lumra 
eats  his  own  stick.  Fighting  goes  on  in  the 
sky,  on  earth  and  under  earth.  Such  a 
[88] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 
fighting  is  rarely  vouchsafed  any  one  to 
behold.  Yet  if  one  reflects  upon  God  it  is 
no  more  than  rain  on  a  roof.  Mother, 
once  I  was  reported  "missing,  killed  or  be- 
lieved taken  prisoner."  I  went  with  a  patrol 
to  a  certain  place  beyond  which  we  went 
forward  to  a  place  which  had  recently  been 
taken  by  the  English  infantry.  Suddenly 
the  enemy's  fire  fell  upon  us  and  behind  us 
like  water.  Seeing  we  could  not  go  back,  we 
lay  down  in  the  holes  made  by  the  shells. 
The  enemy  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost,  but 
our  guns  having  found  him  bombarded  him 
and  he  ceased.  In  the  evening  we  retired 
out  of  our  shell-holes.  We  had  to  walk; 
it  was  fasting  time  and  we  suffered  from 
thirst.  So  our  hearts  were  relieved  when 
we  returned  to  the  Regiment.  We  had  all 
been  reported  to  Divisional  Headquarters 
as  lost.  This  false  report  was  then  can- 
celled. The  shell-holes  in  the  ground  are 
the  size  of  our  goat-pen  and  as  deep  as  my 
[89] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

height  with  the  arm  raised.  They  are 
more  in  number  than  can  be  counted,  and 
of  all  colours.  It  is  like  small-pox  upon  the 
ground. 

We  have  no  small-pox  or  diseases  here. 
Our  doctors  are  strict,  and  refuse  is  burned 
by  the  sweepers.  It  is  said  there  is  no 
physician  like  fire.  He  leaves  nothing  to 
the  flies.  It  is  said  that  flies  produce 
sicknesses,  especially  when  they  are  allowed 
to  sit  on  the  nostrils  and  the  corners  of  the 
eyes  of  the  children  or  to  fall  into  their 
milk-pots.  The  young  children  of  this 
country  of  France  are  beautiful  and  do  not 
suffer  from  sickness.  Their  women  do  not 
die  in  childbed.  This  is  on  account  of 
physicians  and  midwives  who  abound  in 
knowledge.  It  is  a  Government  order, 
Mother,  that  none  can  establish  as  a  mid- 
wife till  she  has  shown  her  ability.  These 
people  are  idolators.  When  there  is  a  death 
which  is  not  caused  by  war,  they  instantly 
l9o] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

ascribe  it  to  some  fault  in  eating  or  drinking 
or  the  conduct  of  life  on  the  part  of  the  dead. 
If  one  dies  without  manifest  cause  the 
physicians  at  once  mutilate  the  body  to 
ascertain  what  evil  was  hidden  inside  it. 
If  anything  is  discovered  there  is  a  crim- 
inal trial.  Thus  the  women-folk  do  not 
traffic  in  poisons  and  wives  have  no  sus- 
picion one  against  the  other.  Truly, 
Mother,  people  are  only  defective  on  ac- 
count of  ignorance.  Learning  and  knowl- 
edge are  the  important  things. 

Your  letters  come  to  me  with  every  mail 
exactly  as  if  we  were  at  headquarters. 
This  is  accomplished  solely  by  knowledge. 
There  are  hundreds  of  women  behind  our 
lines  who  make  clean  and  repair  the  dirty 
clothes  of  the  troops.  Afterwards,  they 
are  baked  in  very  hot  ovens  which  utterly 
destroy  the  vermin  and  also,  it  is  said, 
diseases.  We  have,  too,  been  issued  iron 
helmets  to  protect  the  head  against  falling 
[91 1 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

shots.  It  was  asked  of  us  all  if  any  had  an 
objection.  The  Sikhs  reported  that  they 
had  not  found  any  permission  in  their  Law 
to  wear  such  things.  They,  therefore,  go 
uncovered.  It  was  reported  by  our  priests 
for  us  Mahommedans  that  our  Law  neither 
forbids  nor  enjoins.  It  is  a  thing  indifferent. 
They  are  heavier  than  the  pagri  [turban], 
but  they  turn  falHng  iron.  Doubtless,  it 
is  Allah's  will  that  the  lives  of  His  Faith- 
ful should  be  prolonged  by  these  hats. 
The  sons  of  mothers  who  go  to  foreign 
parts  are  specially  kept  under  His  Eye. 

We  know  very  well  how  the  world  is  made. 
To  earn  a  living  and  bear  trouble  is  the 
duty  of  man.  If  I  send  you  a  report  that 
I  have  won  promotion  in  the  Regiment, 
do  not  forget  to  distribute  alms  to  the 
extent  of  fifteen  rupees  and  to  feed  the 
poor. 

Mother,  put  down  your  ear  and  listen  to 
me.  There  is  no  danger  whatever  in  box- 
[92] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

pictures  [snapshot-photographs].  Anyone 
submitted  to  them  is  in  all  respects  as  he 
was  before.  Nothing  is  taken  out  of  his 
spirit.  I,  myself,  Mother,  have  submitted 
myself  to  many  box-pictures,  both  mounted 
and  standing  beside  my  horse.  If  at  any 
time  again  the  Zenana  Doctor  Sahiba  de- 
sires to  make  a  box-picture  of  him  do  not 
snatch  the  child  away  but  send  the  picture 
to  me.  I  cannot  see  him  in  my  dreams 
because  at  his  age  he  changes  with  each 
month.  When  I  went  away  he  was  still 
on  all  fours.  Now  you  tell  me  he  stands 
up  holding  by  the  skirts.  I  wish  to  see  a 
box-picture  of  this  very  greatly  indeed. 
I  can  read  box-pictures  now  as  perfectly 
as  the  French.  When  I  was  new  to  this 
country  I  could  not  understand  their  mean- 
ing in  the  least.  This  is  on  account  of 
knowledge  which  comes  by  foreign  travel 
and  experience.  Mother,  this  world 
abounds  in  marvels  beyond  belief.  We  in 
[93] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

India  are  but  stones  compared  to  these 
people.  They  do  not  litigate  among  them- 
selves; they  speak  truth  at  first  answer; 
their  weddings  are  not  [performed]  till  both 
sides  are  at  least  eighteen,  and  no  man  has 
authority  here  to  beat  his  wife. 

I  have  resided  in  billets  with  an  old  man 
and  his  wife,  who  possess  seven  hens,  an 
ass,  and  a  small  field  of  onions.  They 
collect  dung  from  our  horse-lines  upon 
their  backs,  a  very  little  at  a  time  but  con- 
tinuously. They  are  without  means  of 
maintenance,  yet  they  do  not  lay  a  finger 
upon  any  food  except  through  invitation. 
They  exhibit  courtesy  to  each  other  in  all 
things. 

They  call  me  Sia  [monsieur?]  which  is 
Mian  [Mahommedan  title  of  respect]  and 
also  man  harah  [mon  brave .?]  which  signifies 
hero.  I  have  spoken  to  them  many  times 
of  you,  my  Mother,  and  they  desire  I  send 
you  their  salutations.  She  calls  me  to  ac- 
[94] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

count  strictly  for  my  doings  each  day. 
At  evening  tide  I  am  fetched  in  with  the  hens. 
My  clothes  are  then  inspected  and  repaired 
when  there  is  need.  She  turns  me  back 
and  forth  between  her  hands.  If  I  ex- 
hibit impatience,  she  hits  me  upon  the  side 
of  the  head,  and  I  say  to  my  heart  it  is  your 
hands. 

Now  this  is  the  French  language.  Mother. 

(i)  Zuur  mononfahn.  The  morning 
salutation. 

(2)  Wasi  lakafeh.     Coffee  is  prepared. 

(3)  AMI  tozuah  mononfahn.  Rise  and 
go  to  parade. 

(4)  Dormeh  heeahn  mon  fiz  mihlieh  pah- 
leh  Bondihu.  This  is  their  dismissal  at 
night,  invoking  the  blessing  of  their  God. 
They  use  a  Tashih  [rosary]  in  form  like  ours 
but  of  more  beads.  They  recite  prayers 
both  sitting  and  walking.  Having  seen 
my  Tasbih  these  old  people  become  curious 
concerning  the  Faith.     Certainly  they  are 

[95  1 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

idolaters.  I  have  seen  the  Images  by  the 
roadside  which  they  worship.  Yet  they 
are  certainly  not  Kafirs,  who  hide  the  truth 
and  the  mercy  of  Allah  is  illimitable.  They 
two  send  you  their  salutations  thus: — On- 
voyeh  no  zalutazioiin  zempresseh  ar_^  zmadam 
vol  mair.     It  is  their  form  of  blessing. 

She  has  borne  three  sons.  Two  are  al- 
ready dead  in  this  war  and  of  the  third  no 
information  since  the  spring-time.  There 
remains  in  the  house  the  son  of  the  eldest 
son.  He  is  three  years  old.  His  name  is 
Pir,  which  in  their  language  also  means 
a  holy  man.  He  runs  barefoot  in  summer 
and  wears  only  one  garment.  He  eats  all 
foods  and  specially  dates.  In  this  country 
it  is  not  allowed  to  give  children  pepper  or 
cardamoms.  He  has  learned  to  speak  our 
tongue  and  bears  a  wooden  sword  which  was 
made  for  him  and  a  turban  of  our  sort. 
When  he  is  weary  he  repairs  to  the  centre  of 
my  bed  which  is  forbidden  to  him  by  his 
M96I 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

grandmother  of  whom  he  has  no  fear.  He 
fears  nothing.  My  Mother,  he  is  almost  the 
same  sort  as  my  own.  He  sends  his  salu- 
tations to  him.  He  calls  him  "My  brother 
who  is  in  India."  He  also  prays  for  him 
aloud  before  an  idol  which  he  is  taken  to 
worship.  On  account  of  his  fatness  he 
cannot  yet  kneel  long,  but  falls  over  side- 
ways. The  Idol  is  of  Bibbee  Miriam  [the 
Virgin  Mary]  whom  they,  in  this  country, 
believe  to  watch  over  children.  He  has  also 
a  small  idol  of  his  own  above  his  bed  which 
represents  a  certain  saint  called  Pir.  He 
rides  upon  the  ass  and  says  he  will  become 
a  trooper.  I  take  delight  in  his  presence 
and  his  conversation. 

The  children  in  this  country  are  learned 
from  their  very  birth.  They  go  to  the 
schools  even  when  the  shells  fall  near 
by.  They  know  all  the  countries  in  the 
world,  and  to  read  and  write  in  their 
language  and  to  cast  accounts.  Even  the 
[97] 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

girls  of  eight  years  can  cast  accounts  and 
those  that  are  marriageable  have  complete 
knowledge  of  cookery,  accounts,  and  gov- 
ernments, and  washing  of  clothes,  agri- 
culture and  the  manufacture  of  garments 
and  all  other  offices:  otherwise  they  are 
reckoned  infirm-minded.  Each  girl  is  given 
a  dowry  to  which  she  adds  with  her  own 
hands.  No  man  molests  any  woman  here 
on  any  occasion.  They  come  and  go  at 
their  pleasure  upon  their  business.  There 
is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  see,  Mother. 
I  should  like  to  see  all  the  men  of  India 
with  all  their  wives  brought  to  France  in 
order  to  see  the  country  and  profit  by 
their  experiences.  Here  are  no  quarrels  or 
contentions,  and  there  is  no  dishonesty. 
All  day  long  men  do  their  work  and  the 
women  do  theirs.  Compared  with  these 
people  the  people  of  India  do  not  work  at 
all,  but  all  day  long  are  occupied  with  evil 
thoughts  and  our  women  all  day  long  they  do 
[98] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

nothing  but  quarrel.  Now  I  see  this.  The 
blame  for  this  state  of  affairs,  Mother,  lies 
upon  the  men  of  India,  for  if  the  men  were  to 
educate  the  women  they  would  give  up 
quarrelling. 

When  a  man  goes  out  into  the  world  his 
understanding  is  enlarged  and  he  becomes 
proficient  in  different  kinds  of  work.  All 
that  is  needed  is  to  show  courage.  At  the 
present  time,  one's  bravery  or  one's  cow- 
ardice is  apparent.  The  opportunities  for 
advancement  come  quickly.  Such  oppor- 
tunities will  not  occur  again. 

As  for  any  marriage  proposed  [for  me?] 
when  I  return,  those  things  can  wait  till  I 
return.  It  is  no  gain  to  take  into  the 
house  a  child  or  a  sickly  one  who,  through 
no  fault  of  her  own,  dies  in  bringing  forth. 
If  there  be  any  talk  between  our  house  and 
any  other  family  upon  this  subject  they 
should  understand  that  I  desire  knowledge 
more  than  dowry.  There  are  schools  where 
l99l 


THE  EYES  OF  ASIA 

girls  are  educated  by  Englisli  ladles.  I  am 
not  of  the  sort  to  make  a  wedding  outside 
my  clan  or  country,  but  if  I  fight  to  keep 
Mama  Lumra  out  of  the  Punjab  I  will 
choose  my  wives  out  of  the  Punjab.  I 
desire  nothing  that  is  contrary  to  the 
Faith,  Mother,  but  what  was  ample  yester- 
day does  not  cover  even  the  palm  of  the 
hand  to-day.  This  is  owing  to  the  spread 
of  enlightenment  among  all  men  coming 
and  going  and  observing  matters  which 
they  had  never  before  known  to  exist. 

In  this  country  when  one  of  them  dies, 
the  tomb  is  marked  and  named  and  kept 
like  a  garden  so  that  the  others  may  go  to 
mourn  over  her.  Nor  do  they  believe  a 
burial-ground  to  be  inhabited  by  evil 
spirits  or  ghouls.  When  I  was  upon  a  cer- 
tain duty  last  month,  I  lay  three  nights  in 
a  grave-yard.  None  troubled  me,  even 
though  the  dead  had  been  removed  from 
their    graves    by    the    violence    of    shells 

[  lOO] 


A  TROOPER  OF  HORSE 

bursting.  One  was  a  woman  of  this  coun^ 
try,  newly  dead,  whom  we  reburled  for  the 
sake  of  the  Pity  of  Allah,  and  made  the 
prayer.  Tell  the  Pir  Murshid  this,  and 
that  I  performed  Tayamummum  [the  short- 
er purification  with  sand  or  dust]  afterwards. 
There  was  no  time  for  the  full  purifica- 
tion. 

Oh,  my  Mother,  my  Mother,  I  am  your 
son,  your  son;  and  as  I  have  said  at  the 
beginning  I  will  return  to  your  arms  from 
out  of  this  country,  when  God  shall  permit ! 


THE    END 


[loij 


THE  COUNTRY  LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY,  N.  Y. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   LIBRARY 

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